In Reality
by imma dino hear me roar-M.I.A
Summary: My friend Leah and I are walking home when we see that we have new neighbors. But how will we react when our new friends look like characters from a certain Anime. "Holy crap it's Sasuke...HAVE MY BABIES!" "Stop fangirling. Hey it's a Tanuki. Oh." As you probably guessed, romance awaits, and new adventures. Sasuke/OC. Gaara/OC. Whoever else I can pair up together, enjoy!
1. The New Neighbours

**Me: Yay I'm not dead! Anyway, I've finally gave into being a lazy ass person and barely go in the internet now. Once I get some sort of Computer of my own, I will have hands of fury! Sorry for going M.I.A but I bring you a new story! Me and my friend have incredibly crack Naruto Scenarios and then this happened. Since I am done with redheads from Suna that are very short,**

**Sasori and Gaara: Hey!  
**

**Me: I am pleased to introduce you the new Disclaimer People of this story. Ino and Deidara!  
What? I like doubles.  
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**Ino: Nat does not own Naruto,  
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**Deidara: Or most of the OC's.  
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**Me: Well they're my friends in real life just...altered. Enjoy the chapter!**

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"And so the answer to number twelve is x=12. Now let's review last night's homework." Mr. Wilson said and I yawned. Algebra class is always the hardest to pay attention to. Mr. Wilson always seemed like the boring math teacher you would see in an old high school movie but he's really nice and funny. I stared at the clock, counting down the minutes until I can escape this class. Well really I'm just hungry and lunch is next so, HURRY UP TIME!

"Alright let's suffer from temporary memory loss and go get some lunch." Mr. Wilson said and I laughed. We stood up and got in a crooked line to go to the cafeteria. I stood next to Jerome and Leah as we walked down. Have I given myself a proper introduction yet? No?

Okay then, my name is Natasha Cortez and I am an average-err…_odd_ teenager. I have black hair with some kind of dark brown in there, and a fail result of red and purple highlights that turned out pink and orange. I am 5' 4" and weight 117 lbs. My friends say that I'm a happy goth/punk/emo/freak but I just don't see it.

I'm not _that_ happy.

Anyway, I'm really shy when you first meet me but once you start to know me…you're going to call the police and tell them to take me to an insane asylum. My personality is mostly negative and I can break someone's spirits but not enough to break their hearts. I am a pessimist but I can say something COMPLETELY messed up with such an upbeat attitude. Oh, and by the way, I'm the jealous type. But one that tries to hide it when really inside I'm dying.

Like now.

"You jerk! How could you say that?!" I yelled to Jerome and he held his hands up in mock-defense.

"Hey, I'm saying the truth. I do love her more than you." He said and I glared at him but gave Leah a death-glare.

"Well why couldn't you offer me a cookie?!" I asked and she munched on her pizza.

"Because I gave my last one to Jerome who says he now loves me more than you so HA!" She said and I huffed then pouted like a child.

"Well I just didn't want to give away my milk." I said then crossed my arms and turned away from them.

"Why not?"

"Do you honestly think the milk here isn't poisoned? Remember the food poisoning everyone got last year?" I asked and Jerome put a hand over his heart.

"Dark day in the cafeteria, dark day. I think the janitors got a heart attack from the mess they had to clean up." He said and we nodded.

"Sooo, Nat,"

"Yes Jerome?" I asked my friend and he looked around, making sure that no one heard us.

"Are you still in love…with Gaara?"

"For fuck's sake…yes, I do still love Gaara." I said with a face-palm and Jerome smirked. He always hazes me about my crushes, it's like he's an older brother.

"You know she lies whenever you ask that." Leah said and I nodded.

"Yeah but it's still fun. It's more fun to make fun of her anime crush than yours. I still don't know why you like Sasuke."

"Dude, the guy's badass." Leah said and I stood up.

"I'm gonna go find some people that _aren't_ anime freaks." I said and sat next to Marcy.

Bad choice.

"Yaoi buddy!"

"Yaoi buddy!" We greeted each other and Maria facepalmed. Marcy and Maria are twin sisters with black hair and are very skinny. We fist-bumped then talked about random crap. Ever had one of those conversations that start out with a fine howdy-doo then ends up extremely disturbing?

"But how would you do it…with a lollipop?"

"I don't know. I guess they just shove it up there and twist it." Marcy said and I shuddered. These two are MAJOR Anime Freaks. Marcy's going through some kind of South Park phase though while Maria's still obsessed with Pokemon.

"Hey Nat, did you hear about the anime convention that's going on in February? The Naruto voice actors will be there, some awesome cosplayers, and…MORGAN FREEMAN!"

"…Marcy,"

"Yes my dear Natsy?"

"…Why would _Morgan Freeman _come to an anime convention?!" I asked then bonked her in the back of the head. If we were in an anime she would be crying anime tears.

"…Hermana, Crispin Freeman is coming to the convention…" Maria said and I facepalmed.

"…So we get to meet Itachi?"

"Oh my Kami you people are on crack." I said then turned to my other friend, Katy. She is somewhat sane. But, unfortunately for me, she was having another one of her unicorn conversations with Janet.

"And that's why I'm a unicorn." She said then turned to me.

"Oh hi Nat."

"…Nope Natasha, you will not lose your sanity today. Atleast not until after school." I said and spent the rest of lunch with her. I was able to tune out Spanish class but, now it's time for gym class. The last period of the day, everyday. As Katy and I were walking to gym, we passed one boy named Eric. Normal people would say hi but then again, this isn't a normal school. I opened my mouth to say hello but got interrupted.

"My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard and they're like,"

"It's better than yours!"

"Damn right!"

"It's better than yours!"

"I could teach you, but I'd have to charge!" Leah and Mia sand together and I facepalmed. Katy joined in and Eric just looked at me.

…I have a major crush on the boy, you could just imagine the embarrassment.

Eric's a tall, slim boy with short blonde hair, blue eyes, and a dull voice that just sound like he's not interested in anything. He wears skater clothes but I'm pretty sure he doesn't know how to skate. I've had a crush on him since the beginning of seventh grade. Don't judge.

"Oh my Kami you bakas are going to be the end of me." I said solemnly and glanced at Eric. He was the silent type so you could be surprised to hear anything come out of his mouth.

"Hey, hey, hey! Where are you going?!" Leah said and we looked at her. She was talking to Eric.

"Boys locker-room is over there!" She pointed to the left and he blushed a little.

"What? No! I wasn't trying to-"

"BULLSHIT!" She said with a finger pointed at him and kicked him out. I mean literally, she kicked him in the back of his legs.

"Leah…I hate you."

"Love ya' too!" We got changed for gym and went to do our warm-ups which was mainly just running around like idiots. I was running with Marcy and us being the weirdos with a short attention span, we started singing.

"Habata itara! Modoranai to itte!"

"Mezashita no wa."

"Aoi, aoi, ano, sora!" We sang in unison then laughed. We're pretty obsessed with Naruto. Well _I_ am. We got into our little squads and sat down to stretch. I'm next to Sam, who is an amazingly awesome brunette, and she comes up with a random question.

"Who do you like?"

"Gaara…sorry force of habit. Who do you like-"

"No fair! I asked you first!" She whined then pouted like a child and I rolled my eyes.

"How about we say their names on three?" I asked and she nodded.

"One…"

"…Two…"

"…Three!"

"Eric!" We said in unison and I looked at her in shock. She looked at me with her mouth agape and then, we laughed.

"Oh my God, no way!" She said and I smiled. It's amazing when you have friends like mine. Insane friends, but amazing friends.

"Wanna mess with him?" I asked and she nodded.

"Oh definitely!" She said and we laughed together. We managed to stay alive during gym class and I remembered something.

"Hey it's Christmas Break!"

"Do you really just notice that? You fail at life." Tonya said and I glared at her.

"Whatever, you all love me for my failures." I said and me being the idiot not looking where I'm supposed to go, I bumped into a body.

"Itai! Hey, watch where you're going-" I stopped once I figured out who I'm talking to.

"I-uh, h-hi Eric."

"…"

"S-Sorry?"

"…It's okay." He said then walked away. Leah helped me up and laughed at me.

"Someone's blushing!"

"…I hate you so much." I said then walked to my locker with a heavy blush. _Baka, baka, baka! _I scolded myself then wall-palmed my locker.

"Oh, Nat!" Leah said and I looked at her. She was holding up a cupcake.

"Happy Birthday!"

"My birthday's tomorrow."

"Just take the damn muffin."

"It's a cupcake."

"Want it or not?!" She yelled and I shrugged then grabbed it from her. I started munching on it as we were walking to my house.

"So I get to chill at your place until tomorrow right?" She asked and I nodded. We kept walking and stopped at the house next to mine. It was basically a mansion, the last owners were family friends so we could stop by at any time. But they moved out some time ago and it looks like someone's finally deciding to move in, considering the moving trucks parked outside.

"Boy what I wouldn't give to live in a house like that." Leah said and I smiled then kept walking until someone stopped in front of me.

"Hello ladies! We are your new neighbors!" He said in excitement and we looked at him. He had black hair in a bowl-cut type of fashion and was wearing a bright green shirt with orange shorts. He had a bright smile that could make anyone go blind.

"Oh hey. I'm Leah and this is my friend Natasha." Leah introduced us and I placed my hand out for him to shake and he accepted.

"You can call me Nat, though." He nodded then kissed my hand. _Oh what a gentleman. _You never see guys like that at my school.

"It's a pleasure Nat-chan! Naruto-kun! Come here and meet our new neighbors!" He yelled and our eyes widened. Leah leaned into me so he wouldn't hear.

"Did he just say…Naruto-kun?" We asked in unison and he came back with a blonde boy. He had blue eyes and…whisker marks?

"Hey! I'm Uzumaki Naruto. This is Rock Lee. It's nice to meet you girls." He said and We looked at them in shock.

"Uh…uh…uh…uh…uh…" Leah kept repeating then I slapped her back.

"Uh…Hi! I'm Leah and this is my friend Natasha who you can call Nat. By any chance, you guys wouldn't have Sasuke here right?" She asked and I glared at her.

"Actually, we do! But Dobe's busy unpacking. Maybe you could come over sometime!" He said and I forced a smile.

"Yeah, like that'll ever happen." I muttered under my breath then turned to them.

"It was really nice meeting you. Goodbye!" I said then grabbed Leah's arm and dragged her to my house. I locked all the doors then went into my room.

"Please tell me that was a little surprise I ruined for my birthday tomorrow!" I said and she shook her head.

"Nope. I have to say, they're really good cosplayers." She said and I snapped my head up.

"Yeah, that's what they are. Obviously! Heh, stupid me for thinking they're the actually characters. As if I don't need anything else to help me question my sanity!" I said then sat on my bed.

"Hey we should invite them over tomorrow for your birthday!" Leah said and I forced another smile.

"Yeah…because that totally won't be weird." I said sarcastically and she nodded.

"I wonder, why would they move into the house next to yours?" She asked and I shrugged.

"Maybe Kishimoto's a wizard and sent them off to a random location." I said jokingly and we busted out laughing.

"Yeah, that's totally what happened!"

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**Me: Yay chapter one of new story is complete! Now, at the end of every chapter for this story, we shall have a guest from the story to help out. LEAH! GET YOUR ARSE OVER HERE!**

**Leah: Ow my ears! Music mentioned was Blue Bird by Ikimono Gakari!  
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**Ino: Do you who's going to be living in the mansion?  
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**Deidara: None of the Akatsuki...don't you love us?  
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**Me: ...You'll be in the story. I don't know when but you'll be in it. I'm gonna take a major break from pretty much every story I write so don't hate me!  
**

**Ino: Review Nat's lovely Creatures of the Night!  
**

**Deidara: Katsu! *Throws bomb to the ground and we all disappear*  
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	2. Total Embarassment and New Friends

**Me: I hope you guys know there's probably going to be an M-Rated version of this story. Blondies, to the disclaimer!**

**Deidara: Nat-chan does not own _Naruto_ or _Naruto Shippuden_. She owns many of the OC's however. This story was also co-written by _My life is a h0t mess_.  
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**Ino: Warning: May-sorry, _will_ involve sexual content, strong language, and random crap that may mentally scar you.  
**

**Me: You know, the sad part is that most of the parts involving my friends and I have happened or totally could happen. Enjoy my horrible chapter!**

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"So remind me again why you're alone on the day of your birthday and when it's almost Christmas." Leah said as we moved a sofa so we could have more room. Have I ever given her an introduction? Aren't I forgetful?

Anyway, Leah is an amazingly fun ginger haired girl with green eyes and she stands at 5' 4" and the same weight as me. She's some type of goth, optimistic, upbeat-yeah I honestly have no idea what to classify that girl as. She's my somewhat opposite. I'm the little depressing pessimist while she's the outgoing optimist. THIS IS FRIENDSHIP!

"Meh, family moved to the motherland but I wanted to continue my education here. Did we really invite so many people? I mean, a small dance inside the living room is good enough." I said and she shook her head.

"No! You have the perfect a giant party and a disco, and a bunch of other random bullshit!" Leah whined and I rolled my eyes.

"Okay then. How many people did you invite?" I asked, hoping her answer was only a one digit number.

"20!" She yelled and I facepalmed.

"You were just supposed to invite our closest friends!" I smacked her over the head. "Baka." I muttered and she whimpered.

"Well atleast you didn't tell them that they could bring as many people they wanted to." I said under my breath and she laughed sheepishly.

"…Oh my Kami, you didn't." I said but she nodded anyway. I threw my hands up in defeat and groaned.

"Gah! What the crap man?! If this place gets trashed, you will help me clean up!" I yelled and she nodded while taking out her phone.

"Yo Johnny, cancel the lobster tank. No man, we don't need it anymore. 'Kay, bye." She said then hung up and I rolled my eyes. We cleaned up around the house and finally got finished around 5 p.m. until I got a phone call from my dear friend, Brianna.

"_BIRCH! WHY THE HELL DIDN'T I GET AN INVITATION TO THE PARTY?!_" She yelled and I fell to the floor because of me not being prepared for that.

"…Ow…my beautiful ear." I whined then got up and put the phone call on speaker.

"What are you talking about Moyashi-chan? I put one in your locker." I replied and heard her scoff.

"_My bean-sprout butt you did! I got jack-diddly-squat!_" She yelled and I stood silent.

"…I wonder if I put it in the right locker…" I thought aloud and Leah started laughing.

"You probably put it in some random dude's locker! I'll be laughing my arse off if he comes to your party!" She said and I bonked her over the head to silence her.

"Anyway, I gave an invitation to most of my friends. What's your locker number, Brianna?" I asked, drawing out a small map to find out which locker I put the invitation in.

"_My locker number is 625._" She said and I froze.

"…You sure it's not 685?" I asked, my voice cracking a bit and Leah smirked.

"_Nope. I know that Marcy and Maria's lockers are right across from that._" She said and I turned to Leah.

"What's you're locker number?"

"654. Right across from yours, smartass." She said and I rolled my eyes.

"I know that Katy's locker is 687. Janet's locker is 585. I know that Britney's locker is 686."

"And how do you know the locker of one of the Perfs' locker?" Leah asked. Little background info, Britney's what we call, a Perf, a popular girl. She's not mean, she's just awesome in academic work.

"Because she's right in between Eric and Katy-uh…crap." I said then my little brain finally processed what I just said.

"…You invited Eric didn't you?" Leah asked and I shook my head.

"No! There's no way!"

"Nat,"

"OH MY KAMI! WHAT HAVE I DONE?!" I yelled and heard Brianna laughing over the phone.

"_Well, I see that you're having an episode so…Brianna out!_" She hung up and I stood there frozen, letting the phone drop to the ground.

"…Screw…me…" I muttered before falling to my knees.

"Well, do you honestly think he'll come over? I'm pretty sure he barely knows you." Leah said, trying to make me feel better, but it made me feel worse.

"Thanks, Leah. That makes me feel even more awesome!" I said with sarcasm dripping in my voice and she rolled her eyes.

"You know he could always call you about that." She muttered and I looked at her.

"How would he get my number…please tell me you didn't give him my number." I said and she shook her head.

"No way. That would be cruel of me." I let out a breath of relief. "I wrote it all over his notebooks." I anime fell.

"What in the name of Kami is wrong with you?!" I yelled while shaking her by the shoulders then let go. I gave out an aggravated sigh and rubbed my temples.

"Okay, I'm sure that if he wanted to get this sorted out, or he just doesn't give a damn-"

"You know he's too nice to do that. Remember the little baby turtle that made its way into the school, and he saved it from getting trampled?"

"…So that's what was in my locker? I've been feeding that turtle since the incident. Anyway, I prefer the latter of my choices so let's just pray to Kami that he doesn't call."

"_'Cause we hunt you down without mercy.__Hunt you down all nightmare long!__Feel us breathe upon your face!__Feel us shift, every move we trace!_"

"…Please let it be my mom calling to check up on me…" I answered and stayed silent for what seemed like hours.

"…Moshi moshi?" I asked and Leah facepalmed then shook her head.

"_Um, Nat? It's Eric. Eric Evans?_"

'Screw me!' I mouthed and Leah laughed at my misfortune. I flipped her off and she gladly returned it. She took the phone from me and put it on speaker.

"Hey Stoner-I mean, Eric. Nat just wanted to confirm what time you're coming over but her back kinda hurts right now-"

"No it doesn't."

**PUNCH!**

"Ah! My spine!" I clutched my back and fell to the floor in pain. Leah just stood there, letting me squirm on the floor.

"So anyway, what time do you think you'll come over?" She asked and I looked up to glare at her. I barely muttered two words to the boy! Why would he want to come to my party?

"_I guess when the party starts. That's why I called her, to get a time. I was actually a bit surprised to find the invitation in my locker. I thought that Nat didn't exactly like me._" He said in a low voice and Leah covered her mouth while looking at me with wide eyes.

"N-No, she likes you! A lot more than you'd think." She muttered the last part and I glared at her then stood up.

"_Okay, great. So what time should I come?_" He asked and Leah looked at me, I rolled my eyes.

"You can come over at seven, Eric." I said and Leah looked at me then at the phone.

"…And be sure to invite as many friends as you'd like! Bye!" She said then quickly hung up. I looked at her then at the phone.

"…Ah, damn it. Okay, let's prepare the rest of the backyard for this party. Why couldn't I have listened to my parents and gone with them to Mexico for my party? Because you already went there for my fifteenth birthday, smartass. No one asked you!" I yelled to myself and Leah looked at me then backed away.

"Excuse me for talking to myself. This is your fault!" I said while pointing a finger at her and she raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, it's not my fault that you talk to yourself-"

"I meant the fact that my little obsession is coming over to the party! Do you know how much of an idiot I'm going to seem in front of Eric?! Let alone the fact that I'm an extreme sarcastic bitch, I'm insane!"

"You know, you're not crazy if you think you're crazy." She said and I stared at her then blinked.

"…The hell does that mean?! Never mind, come on, we have to prepare the fiesta!" I exclaimed then tugged on her arm and led her to the backyard.

"…When was the last time you held a party here?" Leah asked while looking around and I shrugged. The backyard had enough space for a ballroom party but it wasn't exactly perfect. There was a bit of debris and the garage had to be cleaned out. There were only two cars inside and those belonged to my parents until I 'Inherited' them. When in reality, they tried to convince me my uncle's daughter's cousin's brother-in-law had passed away and left me the cars…I saw him at church about a week ago.

"Okay, let's move the autobots!" Leah exclaimed and I rolled my eyes then got in the car.

"Where do I put them?" I asked and she pointed behind the garage. I rolled my eyes then parked the first one in the back. Leah tried to get in the second one but I beat her to it.

"There is no way in hell that I'm going to let you drive my cars." I said then parked them in the back.

"Alright, let's clean up the garage. The DJ wouldn't like it if it's messy."

"How the hell can you afford a DJ?"

"I can't. The guy's my uncle. We made a deal saying that he could DJ my parties whenever as long as I recommend him to my friends. Which reminds me, are you in need of entertainment for a birthday party, wedding, or other important event?" I asked while handing her a business card and she rolled her eyes.

"Let's just get this over with." She muttered and we started working on clearing out the backyard and garage. At around seven thirty, it started to get chilly so we went back inside.

"Why are you holding an outside party in late December?" Leah asked as she closed the kitchen door and I shrugged.

"I've only celebrated my birthday on the actual day about two times. Besides, I checked the weather; it's not going to be too cold. Remind me to move to Miami when I retire."

"Remember to move to Miami when you retire." Leah said, being the smartass she is and I rolled my eyes. We just hung out in the dining room, messing with my pet parakeets until the doorbell rang.

"Who the hell could that be?" I asked while going down the stairs, almost tripping on the last one, and answered the door.

"S-Sorry to bother you but, c-can I borrow some s-sugar?"

"…OH MY KAMI YOU'RE SO ADORABLE! I mean, sure. Come in!" I said to the bluenette girl and my mood had brightened up. _That girl's great at cosplaying as Hinata. You can't tell the difference! _She was wearing a zipped purple jacket and blue pants. If you took a close look at her, you'd think that she didn't have any pupils.

"T-Thank you. My name is H-Hinata Hyuuga." She introduced herself and I froze.

"…Do you have pupils?"

"Leah!"

"What? I was curious!" She yelled and Hinata blushed. I froze once I got inside the kitchen. Although she shares the same appearance with the real Hinata Hyuuga and they have the same voice and stutter, I refuse to believe that they might be the same.

"Where are you from?" Leah asked as I got out the sugar.

"I-I'm from Konoha-uh, I-I mean…L-Leaf's City?" She said, more like a question and I raised an eyebrow.

"You must really like the anime, Naruto." I said after filling a plastic bag with sugar and she gulped then nodded.

"V-Very. I really like…N-Naruto-kun." She blushed heavily and Leah smirked.

"So, do you know the boy that lives next door? You know, his name is Naruto too!" She said and Hinata smiled then nodded.

"Y-Yes, I'm familiar with him. I-I live in the same house. Along with the r-rest of our friends." She said shyly and we looked at her in interest. The doorbell rang again and Hinata yelped. She answered it and it showed a boy with long, brown hair with a white shirt and grey pants. I meeped then hid behind Leah.

"Hinata-sama, what's taking so long? Naruto needs that sugar for Kami knows what."

"S-Sorry, N-Neji-san." She apologized and our eyes widened.

"And of course, I had to lose my sanity the day before my birthday. Awesome." I muttered and Leah elbowed me. Neji looked up at us then sighed.

"Forgive me for intruding. I am Neji Hyuuga. Hinata-sama's cousin. Who may you two be?" He asked and I straightened up.

"My name is Natasha Cortez. This is my idiot best friend, Leah Hood. Leah, say hi."

"Hi!" She waved to him and I rolled my eyes. I walked over to the two Hyuugas and gave the shyer one the bag of sugar.

"If you need anything else, don't be a stranger, just walk inside. Well, atleast not at three in the morning." I said and they nodded.

"Hey, do you guys want to come over tomorrow for Nat's party?" Leah asked and I glared at her.

"Nani? A party? For what?" Neji asked me and I sheepishly smiled.

"My birthday's tomorrow! I'll be turning sixteen. Would you like to come?" I asked politely and they exchanged glances.

"Could we invite our friends?" He asked and I nodded.

"Sure, just tell me which friends." I asked, not because I was curious. I wanted to know if their friends were other 'Cosplayers' which I really hope they are.

"About 15 or so." He said and I sighed but nodded anyway.

"Sure. The party starts at seven, but you could come over whenever. You guys live in the mansion next door, right?" I asked and they nodded.

"Considering the fact that Naruto's usually excited about everything, he'll probably arrive around four." Neji said and Hinata nodded.

"A-And, Gaara-kun would come with him. Do you think S-Sasuke-kun would come?" Hinata asked and our eyes widened. Well, mine did, Leah had an inner fangirl moment.

"You guys could convince him to come to Nat's part tomorrow, right?" She asked with stars in her eyes and they nodded.

"Well, we should be heading home. We'll be sure to tell our friends about your party tomorrow. Goodbye, Natasha and Leah." Neji said and Hinata waved as they left. I closed the door behind them and let out a sigh of relief.

"Leah, please tell me that they're either amazing cosplayers that never break character or I've finally gone insane."

"Nat,"

"TELL ME I'M INSANE!" I yelled while grabbing onto her shoulders and she slapped me then held me by the shoulders.

"You are insane, but it's not because of this." She said in a serious voice then let me go.

"Nat, maybe they are the real deal-"

"They're not the real deal! They can't be! It's impossible!" I tried to convince myself more than I was convincing her. Holding onto the last shred of sanity is my hobby. She looked at me then sighed.

"Look, even if they are or they aren't, they're still really cool people. They could be amazing friends! Do you know what the future would be like if we actually took some time to meet them?" She said optimistically and I took some time to think

"One filled with death, rape, drugs, and murder?" Me being the little pessimist I am, I think of the worst possible scenario. I sighed in defeat.

"Okay, maybe you're right. Maybe I should try to think of the positives for once. Okay, we'll befriend them, get to know them, and maybe even be apart of their lives. You know, all that beautiful crap." I said and she laughed.

"Admit it, I'm the awesome friend that'll change your life for the better."

"No I'm pretty sure that'll be Hinata." I said and she rolled her eyes but smiled.

"Well, tomorrow we get to meet the 'cosplayers' Naruto Uzumaki,"

"And Sabaku no Gaara in person. Now this'll be a fun party." I finished and she nodded.

"So, do you believe they're real?"

"I don't know, do I believe in magic?" I asked, that was my little way of saying,

"I'm not sure, Leah. There isn't really a way to prove it."

"Oh we'll prove it. We will find the answer to Life and Happiness!"

"…You mean we're gonna find out if they're real or not."

"Same thing." I rolled my eyes then went to my room.

"Goodnight, Leah. I hope you have a wonderful dream about Sasuke, fried chicken, and being a ninja." I said with a wave and she chuckled.

"And I hope you dream of zombies, vampires, and eternal darkness!"

***The Next Day***

**Ding-Dong**

"Comin'!"

"Hi, Nat-chan! I'm glad you get to meet my friend."

"Hello. I'm Sabaku no Gaara."

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**Me: Just to clear things up, I did not misspell bitch. Birch is a little thing that my friends and I use constantly. Anyway, MARCY! GET YOUR BUTT OVER HERE!**

**Marcy: Not until you make my South Park story!  
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**Me: ...Maria! Thank you for helping!  
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**Maria: Music mentioned was All Nightmare Long by Metallica. The Kazekage of Suna, Nat will be sure to get her vocabulary right. aishachase97, don't worry, we all have those moments.  
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**Ino: My life is a h0t mess, SHE'S WORKIN' ON IT! Guest, She feels so loved!  
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**Deidara: Marcy, WE'RE WORKING ON IT! You have to discuss the plot with Nat-chan, un.  
**

**Me: And that's the feedback! Anyway, guys, I know I've pretty much been abandoning you. But now, I just feel so unmotivated to write stories so that's why I put M.I.A. At the very least, I'll update every month. Hopefully summer will be different. Anyway, I will not quit this. This is not a hobby, it's my obsession. Hopefully I'm not leaving for a long time. Okay, putting that aside, would you guys be somewhat entertained if I made the M-Rated version of this story? The weird thing about me is that I plan it out and I get so far ahead that I have no idea where the crap I'm in the actual story. Anyway, would you guys like that? I mean, it'll have to be after I'm completely done with this story. And we are done, see you guys in a month!  
**

**Deidara and Ino: Goodbye Nat's Creatures of the night! (Un!)  
**


	3. Please, Go Home

**Me: I'M ALIVE!**

**Deidara: Barely.**

**Me: I'M SORRY THAT I'VE BEEN GONE! I KNOW LAST TIME I SAID I WOULD JUST BE GONE FOR A MONTH BUT IT'S BEEN MORE THAN THAT SO YOU GUYS DESERVE SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR WAITING! I love you guys so much for putting up with my absence! Thanks! I've just been in such an 'I don't want to anything! I can't be bothered to live!' phase and-GAH! Thanks for sticking with me!**

**Ino: You done yet?**

**Me: Yesses. I do not own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden and its characters. **

**Deidara: Nat-chan owns most of the OC's, well she would if they weren't based off of real people, un. **

**Ino: WARNING: Vulgar language will be used and other stuff that might not be appropriate for the reading audience. In Reality is rated T for Teens but will turn into M for Mature later on. Please don't judge. We thank you for reading imma dino hear me roar-M.I.A.'s story. **

**Deidara: Enjoy the chapter, un!**

* * *

"Naruto-kun, you made it! And you brought a friend!" Leah said after coming downstairs to greet the blonde boy. She looked at Gaara then winked at me. I rolled my eyes then held my hand out to him.

"I am Natasha Cortez. It's nice to meet you, Gaara." I introduced myself and he looked at my hand before shaking it. On the outside, I was calm and collected. On the inside however, I was going crazy. _Holy fucking ass crackers, I'm shaking this guy's hand. The hell do I do now?! _I mentally cursed at myself and the two boys seemed to have noticed. I forgot that they could read emotions. He looked at me then released my hand before crossing his arms.

"It's nice to meet you, Natasha." He said politely but I couldn't really tell if it was sincere or not.

"You could just call me Nat. Come on inside, I'm sure it's cold outside." I said and they shook their heads.

"It's actually pretty warm out for it being late December." Naruto said and I stepped outside. I gave out an aggravated sigh then shook my head.

"That is the last time I check the weather on the radio. Damn weathermen, fifty percent chance of winter mix, my ass." I muttered under my breath then went back inside with the boys. Leah was leaning against the banister and I shot her a look.

"You know you're going to die if you do that, right?" I asked and Naruto looked at me.

"How?" He asked and I sighed then leaned against the banister myself. It made a loud squeak and moved a bit.

"These things are so not safe. The house was built fifty year ago, it's pretty much as old as my parents." I said and they nodded.

"Hey! You have pet parakeets!" Naruto said then ran to my two little animals.

"Shouldn't they be in their cage? Is it safe to let them fly around the house?" Gaara asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, my parents trained them to be well-behaved but then they had to leave. They usually don't fly around anywhere except the dining room, although sometimes they end up in my room. They don't scratch or bite unless-"

"Itai!" Naruto yelled then covered his finger. My purple bird looked agitated so I assumed he messed with it.

"…You anger it. The purple one is Jasper, the white one is Yuki. I'm still trying to make them produce little annoying babies so I can give them away but no, they refuse to mate." I said solemnly and Gaara walked over to them, then froze.

"Maybe because they already did." He said and I looked at him. I walked over to him and followed his gaze. Jasper was sitting on a white, round object and I gasped.

"…Jasper's a Jennifer!" Leah exclaimed and I glared at her. I rolled my eyes then squatted down to meet his…or _her _eye-level.

"…Jasper, are you a girl?"

"Did you really have to ask that?" Gaara said in annoyance and I shrugged.

"Hey, I've had these little rascals for about two years, I get curious. Moving on, I don't know what you guys want to do here since the party doesn't start in a couple of hours. I guess I could take you back to my room. What kind of music do you guys like?" I asked in the name of conversation while leading the boys to my bedroom.

"J-Pop, I listen to the band, Ikimono Gakari." Naruto said and I looked at him.

"I really like them. I love Hana wa Sakura Kimi wa Utsukushi." I said with no problem and Leah popped her head in the doorway.

"…The fuck?" She asked and I rolled my eyes then turned to Gaara.

"What about you? What type of music do you listen to, Gaara?" I asked and he shrugged.

'I don't really listen to music. I don't actually like music that much." I slightly scowled but shook it off. I didn't notice that Naruto stood still in the doorway of my room, so I almost crashed into him.

"Oof! What the crap are you doing just standing there?" I asked and he pointed to my wall.

"…Nice drawings." Gaara commented and I facepalmed at myself. My entire wall has drawings of the Naruto characters. One for pretty much everyone who plays an important role. Some were in color and others were little pairings I decided to draw.

"Is that supposed to be me with Hinata-?"

"Hey, look! Music!" I cut off the crimson-haired boy then turned on the stereo in my room. To make things seem a bit more ironic, the song playing was Blue Bird by Ikimono Gakari. Once Naruto recognized the lyrics, he perked up then started tapping his feet to the beat.

"I love this song!"

"How ironic."

"What was that?"

"Nothin'." I muttered but Gaara kept an eye on me. I sighed then leaned against the doorway.

"Am I able to trust you two in my room, alone?"

"You just met us, why do you give us this much trust anyway?"

"…Because I loves you?" I said in a sweet voice while holding my hands up like paws. Once I finally processed what I said, I facepalmed at myself for being an insensitive jerk. When I opened my eyes to see what his reaction was, and now I wish I didn't.

Gaara was glaring me down and I could just feel the hatred emanating from him. _I didn't know that you could get someone to hate you so soon after you've met them. _My thoughts were interrupted once I could hear someone breathing next to me. My eyes widened once I finally realized that he was standing next to me, as if he was cornering a wounded animal. I was facing straight ahead while he was facing the wall that was to my back.

"Would you like to repeat that, _Nat-chan_?" He mocked and I gulped and stayed still. _They only see movement. Don't move and he won't attack. Wait, that's for a dinosaur, how do I protect myself from a ninja?! _I snapped my head up at the last word then narrowed my eyes.

"He isn't real. He isn't really a ninja." I muttered to myself to hold onto the last shred of sanity I have left.

"What was that?" Gaara asked in a calm voice while slightly turning his head towards me. I turned to him with a slight smirk.

"You're a just a teenager. You can't do anything bad to harm me. You may like look and sound like him, but he isn't real. Ya' hear me?" I pulled his head in closer by holding onto the back of his neck. "He isn't real!"

He gave me a wicked smirk then did something with his hand.

"Sand coffin-!"

"Gaara!" Naruto yelled and we looked at him. Naruto gave Gaara a warning look the glanced at me then back to him.

"Stop it. Now." Naruto commanded and Gaara just smiled at him.

"Of course, Naruto. There's nothing left to do." Gaara said in an innocent voice and Naruto crossed his arms then rolled his eyes. He stopped once he looked at my bathroom then froze. He scowled then shut the bathroom door shut.

"Nat-chan, I think I hear Leah-chan calling for you. You should go see her. Now." Naruto said to me, his eyes not leaving Gaara. I glanced at both of them and gave out an aggravated sigh.

"Fine. But first," I turned to the boy next to me. "I'm sorry for yelling at you, Gaara. I guess I finally lost my sanity." I explained and he didn't even acknowledge me. Honestly, I wasn't sure if I really did lose my sanity. I didn't mean that outburst. I sighed at his silence then gave him a quick embrace. He tensed up when I did and looked at me when I let go.

"Why did you hug me?"

"I like to cuddle." I shrugged it off then walked out off my room. I took two steps and stopped once I heard the two boys bickering at each other.

"What the hell?! Were you trying to kill her?!" Naruto yelled in a hushed voice and I heard Gaara scoff.

"No. I just had to get the message to her. Naruto, you know how I feel about love. She doesn't know about that-"

"She does! Gaara, she really does! I know it! She's just confused about all of this. That's why she said you weren't real. Trust me, Gaara. You might not have sensed it but I did. She's trying to convince herself that we are just ordinary people, which are what we should pose as." Naruto said and I mentally cursed.

"But you're compromising that. I saw the sand creeping in from the bathroom! What are you trying to gain if you scare her?! Any of them, for that reason!"

"I'm trying, Naruto. I really am. It's just…I'm not sure. Is this a good idea? Should we stay here, or go back home?" I've heard enough. I walked out of the hallway and outside to the balcony.

"Go home…You don't belong here…Please, go home…" I whispered silently and looked over the railing.

The balcony itself was old and somewhat dangerous, so if you were to fall, it'd do much damage. I sighed then heard some squeaks. My eyes widened and lost my balance. I fell backwards while the railing I was leaning on, along with part of the flooring I was standing on, fell to the ground.

"What…What the hell?" I muttered as I stood up. "…Why the hell does everything try to kill me?!" I asked in frustration then kicked a plank. The plank moved a bit while making a loud noise, so I meeped then ran back inside.

"That never happened."

"What did?"

"HOLY FUCKING ASS CRACKERS!" I screamed then karate chopped whatever was around me.

"Ow! Nat! It's me!"

"Oh hi, Leah. What's up?" I asked my ginger friend and she rolled her eyes at me.

"You hasses guestesses downstairs." …Yeah, this is just one of the people that I hang out with. I rolled my eyes at her improper grammar, and wording, then went downstairs.

"Why the bloody hell didn't they knock on the front door?" I asked myself then opened the back door.

"Yo." A girl with dyed red, curly hair greeted me and I smiled.

"Isabel! You made it!" I cheered then hugged my taller-than-me friend. She hugged back then handed me a box. No, it wasn't a wrapped box, it was just an ordinary brown box.

"Here's your present. Where's the food?" She asked and I laughed at the creativity her box had.

"Upstairs. So, what has my Russian friend been up to?"

"I got the new Muse album!" She exclaimed and I smiled at her.

"Really? Lucky. So, what'd ya' get me?" I asked then took off the lid of the box. I gasped in excitement then took my present out.

"I freaking love you!" I yelled then took a good look at the dress. It was a Santa Claus girl dress. The collar had soft felt on it along with the end of the dress, which reached my thigh.

"Hey, you're gonna look like a slut." Leah said while coming downstairs then poked me in the stomach.

"Slut." She said jokingly and I rolled my eyes.

"Why do you call me that?" I asked and she took some time to think.

"Because your OC's always have men with them. I mean, look at Alex, Akari, and Stephanie."

"…What?" Isabel said and I bonked Leah over the head.

"Baka! Don't tell the readers that!"

"Whoops, I'm breaking the fourth wall here." Leah said mockingly then turned to the screen. "Hey, readers. How ya' doin'?"

"…Well anyway…" Isabel said, trying to change the subject.

"Let's go upstairs and wait for the other guests to arrive." I said and led the group upstairs.

"So did anyone else come? Am I the first? FIRST!" Isabel did the stereotypical Youtube video comment and I chuckled.

"We have some neighbours from next door that are in my room. They're kinda freaky though so I wouldn't want to-"

***DING DONG***

I got cut off by the doorbell and gave out a loud sigh. I walked over to the door and answered.

"Yesses?" I asked in my own little special way and the person just gave me a look.

"Hello? Is this where Dobe and Gaara are at?"

"That depends, are you Sasuke?"

"Hai."

"…Damn it…screw it, come in." I said and he rolled his eyes then bowed slightly.

"As you already know. I am Sasuke. Sasuke Uchiha. Should I take off my shoes?" He asked politely and I shook my head.

"No, I don't really do the whole traditional Japanese thing. I'm Natasha Cortez, by the way. You can call me Nat." I held out my hand to him and he looked away.

"Hn. It's nice to meet you, Natasha. Can you show me where my friends are?" He asked and I nodded.

"Sure, they're right up-"

"HI!" Leah yelled then ran up to the raven haired boy.

"My name is Leah! It's nice to meet you Sasuke-kun!" _Freaking Uchiha fangirl. _I thought bitterly but smiled.

"Hey, I'm Isabel." Isabel introduced herself from my kitchen where she was eating chips and had a soda can in her hand. Sasuke nodded and shook Leah's hand.

"I see how it is. I see." I muttered and noticed that there were two boys around the corner.

"You're friends are over there." I pointed to the corner and Sasuke nodded. He walked over to them and exchanged certain words.

"Whoa, I've never seen a guy wear so much eyeliner." Isabel said once she saw Gaara and he rolled his eyes.

"Dude! Do you have pupils?! Is your hair naturally red?!" She asked and he nodded.

"No way! I always wanted my hair to be like that! I'm so jealous! I so done right now! I'm done!" She threw her hands in the air and I laughed along with Leah.

"Guys this is Isabel. She's our great friend."

"Hey, I'm a BAMFR." She corrected and Leah nodded.

"Bad Ass Mother-fuzzing Russian." Leah explained and they nodded.

"Dude, seriously! Where do you get your eyeliner? I wanna get some!" She asked Gaara and he scowled.

"These are natural. I have insomnia."

"Oh, like Nat?"

"I'm not an insomniac, it only takes me an hour to get to sleep." I said and she shrugged.

"Whatever. I'm going back to eating." Isn't she a lovely friend? I rolled my eyes but smiled and heard my phone ringing from my room. Naruto went and got it for me then answered himself.

"Moshi moshi." He greeted and I took my phone from him.

"Give me that. Mental Problems residence. Insanity speaking." I greeted and heard a cough.

"_Uh, Nat? It's Eric._" I meeped then almost dropped the phone and accidentally put it on speaker.

"Um, yeah, Eric-kun-I mean, Eric?" I corrected myself. The honourifics finally got to me.

"_Yeah. I'm kind of lost. Can you give me directions to your house?_"

"You don't know where my house is? I always say that it's across the street from the school."

"_It is? I didn't know that. Well, I'm walking right now. I'm at a corner near the playground._" He explained and I nodded, thinking he can see me.

"Okay, I'll just go and get you. It's really close. I'll see you there. Don't move." I said then hung up.

"Hey, you're growing some breasts and talking to him. Nice job." Isabel complemented and I gave her a small smile then looked down at myself, and sniffled.

"But I'm still a C cup." I said and remembered that there were boys with us. I coughed in embarrassment then regained my composure.

"Forget I said that. Who wants to take a field trip and go pick up my friend, Eric, with me? No Leah, not you. You'll stay here and make the house doesn't burn down." She pouted like a child and I rolled my eyes. Naruto raised his hand excitedly and I smiled.

"Bitchin'. Let's go." I said and hopped onto his back without saying a word.

"Um, why are you on my back?"

"It makes me feel like a princess." I said sarcastically and he smiled anyway. We went outside and walked, well I was carried, to the corner. It wasn't that far from the house and I noticed some moving vans from the other house next to me.

"Huh. I wonder who's moving in." I said to myself and Naruto stopped.

"Is that him?" He asked and pointed to a tall blonde.

"Yes it is. Now let me down while I replace you with another blonde." I said and he rolled his eyes but smiled. Eric was looking around like a lost puppy and had his back towards us. I walked behind him and tapped on his shoulder. He turned around then looked at me and smiled.

"Hey, Nat. Happy birthday." He pulled me in for a hug and I blushed to a dark shade of red. Naruto noticed and got a wicked look in his eyes. I was happy to hear his voice, mostly because he sounds somewhat British, because I'm afraid to even say hi to him. But a hug? My life is now complete. I can die happy now.

"Yo, birch! Get your ass back here! Gaara's trying to burn down the house!" Leah yelled from the balcony and I facepalmed, then remembered that I was still in an embrace.

"Thanks, Eric. I never took you as a hugging person." I ignored Leah and he let go then smiled.

"I'm not. That was how I was going to give you your present." He explained and I looked at him. Naruto looked at me then smiled brightly.

"My present? What is it?" I asked and he motioned to my neck.

"A necklace. A shark tooth necklace, to be exact. My grandfather gave it to me when I was old enough to walk. He says that it's for protection. I've been safe for my whole life so I never really had any use for it. I thought you might like it." He said and I nodded.

"But, I can't accept it." I said while taking it off. "It's yours, given to you from your grandfather. I have no right to take that away." I said and put it in his hands but he shook his head.

"It's all I could get you. I didn't know what you liked and then I remembered that you aren't an ordinary girl. I assumed you liked stuff like this. Do you?" He asked while putting it back on and I looked away with a blush, but nodded.

"Yeah. I do…" I trailed off then remembered Naruto was standing there, watching the moment. I snapped out of my little trance then turned around.

"Come on, we should go back to my house. Oh, I forgot to introduce you two to each other. Eric, this is my friend, Naruto. Vice verse, let's go before my house burns down." I said then walked over to the fence separating my backyard and the playground.

There was a hole it, big enough for someone to pass through. I passed through it with ease and found Naruto already on the other side. I looked at him in shock and he just shrugged.

"Okay then. I don't know how you did that and I don't want to. Eric, give me your hand." He kicked part of the fence in then walked through.

"…Or you could just do that…Yeah…" I said and he looked at the small ruble.

"Do you want me to help you clean that and repair your fence?" He asked and I shook my head.

"Nah. Leah can do that later." I said and he nodded.

"…Okay, how'd you do that? Why kick it in?" I asked and he looked away for a bit to think.

"Well, I don't really have an answer for you now." He said and I rolled my eyes, which was when I finally noticed what he was wearing.

He was wearing his regular grey hoodie but this time he left it unzipped. Underneath the sweater was a black T-shirt with skulls on them. He wore black jeans with a small chain between two holes for the belt.

"…Uh, you look like Thomas." I said and he looked down at himself then shrugged.

"He let me borrow his pants." He answered and I sighed. Thomas was my other blonde friend but he had light blonde hair, while Eric had dirty blonde hair. Thomas was more punk than Eric, and I still loves him.

"I almost died with Thomas one day. A white van almost run us over."

"Didn't Leah-chan say the house was about to burn down?"

"Oh right. Forgot about that." I said then ran to the kitchen door and found Isabel stomping the life out of a small fire in the corner with Leah cheering her on. She finally put the fire out and I facepalmed.

"Damn it, Leah. The hell did I tell you to do?!" I yelled then bonked her over the head.

"Hey, it was Guyliner's fault. He knocked over the candle that was here." Isabel said and I froze.

"…Was it the black candle?" I asked and she nodded. I gritted my teeth then stomped over to Gaara.

"The hell, man?! That was the candle I put out for my deceased grandmother!" I said and calmed down.

"Whatever. Just don't do it again. Where's the candle?" I asked and Isabel laughed sheepishly.

"Heh, I threw it out the window?" She said more like a question and I threw my hands in the air.

"I'm so done! I'm done!" I said and regained my composure.

"It's alright, Isa." I used her nickname, which meant she was good. She cheered but almost socked Naruto in the eye.

"Whoa. Sorry, buddy. Oh hey! Eric made it! You look like Thomas."

"Is that a good thing?"

"Hell yeah it is." Leah said and he smiled.

"Well, Gaara, Sasuke. This is Eric." Said boy waved a little. "He's our friend-"

"Your friend. I don't talk to Stoner." Leah said, using the name I sometimes use when I get too flustered to actually refer to him by his name.

"Aw, Leah. I really thought we were friends." Eric said playfully and she rolled her eyes. The two don't really care for each other but they're on good terms.

"Hey, where did the necklace come from? Did you rob someone?!" Isabel asked and I shook my head.

"That is my present to her." Eric said and she looked at me.

"Oh, I see how it is. You wear his present but you don't wear mine? Go downstairs and put on the dress, missy!" Isabel yelled while pointing downstairs and I pouted.

"But I don't wanna!"

"Go!"

"Okay…" I said in defeat then went downstairs to put the dress on. After a few minutes of trying to figure out if I should wear leggings, I decided against it and went back upstairs but stayed away from the others.

"Come on! Let's see how it looks." Isabel said and I shook my head.

"No way! Leah was right! It does make me look slutty!"

"I told ya'!" Leah said and Sasuke came out then dragged me in by the arm.

"No, I don't wanna." I whined and he sighed. I shut my eyes closed to avoid the reaction of the others and I felt someone put something on my head.

"…The reindeer ears just pull it all together." Leah said and I opened an eye to meet blue eyes, with pupils.

"Well don't you look pretty?"

"How the hell did you get inside, Thomas?" I asked and he looked at the hole in the fence. I nodded and mouthed 'Oh,'

"Happy birthday!" He said while hugging me and I hugged him back.

"Thanks, that means a lot from my dying buddy." I said and he smiled. I forgot about the dress then used Thomas to cover myself up.

"Don't look at me!"

"Too late." Naruto said and I sighed in defeat. I let go of Thomas but crossed my arms. Leah tickled me and I spazzed out. I heard a snap then saw Isabel holding a camera.

"…Why me?" I asked to the heavens above then looked at the boys for approval. Naruto smiled, Sasuke didn't give a crap, and Gaara just kept looking at me. I subconsciously covered myself up but a hand stopped me.

"You look pretty. Don't worry. You're fine." Eric said and I blushed then nodded.

"Lies! You sit on a throne of-wait you're not sitting." Leah said then pushed Eric into a chair. "You sit in a chair of lies!" She yelled and I rolled my eyes.

"Hey, I almost forgot about my present. Here, I hope you like it." Thomas said then handed me a T-Shirt.

"A Three Days grace shirt! Thomas, I love you!" I said in excitement then hugged the blonde boy. He laughed then hugged back. I looked at the others and could only notice something stand out. Gaara was just staring at me, like he was studying me.

I let go of my friend then examined the shirt. It looked like it fit me well and I did want to try it on, but Isabel would kick my ass if I cover up her dress. I put it down and smiled brightly.

"Aren't you gonna try it out?" Leah asked and I shook my head.

"That's a shirt I'm going to wear when we get back to school. That and it'll cover up my necklace." I said while looking down at my gift.

_It's for protection, I want you to have it… _I remembered then gave a small smile.

'_Damn it, Katy. I said that Eric wasn't a surfer, but now this disproves it.'_

* * *

**Me: I JUST REALIZED GAKARI COULD BE THE SHIPPING NAME FOR GAARA AND AKARI! HOW DID I NOT NOTICE THAT?!**

**Deidara: *Cough* Let's continue. Explain the Breaking of the fourth wall.**

**Me: Oh that. My friend and I do this thing called 'Storying' which is where we pretty much continue the story through long texts and breaking the fourht wall has always been a recurring detail. My friends and I use a lot of improper grammar while speaking so I just have to do this. Anyway, Isabel! My Russian friend! Come and help out!  
**

**Isabel: Bitchin'. Music mentioned was Hana wa Sakura Kimi wa Utsukushi, wow that sounds Asian, and Blue Bird by Ikimono Gakari. animallover99, sorry we're late. Shit happens.  
**

**Me: That's a Walking Dead quote! Anyway, I'm glad you guys are still sticking by with me. I'm not going to tell you when I update again because I feel like I'll jinx myself and be horribly late, again. Other than that, I wanted to do a little experiment. For the amount of readers out there reading this,  
**

**If you were in Nat's shoes, who would you want? Eric, or Gaara? **

**Deidara: Isn't it too soon to be asking that, un? Are you sure that there'll even be a result, un?  
**

**Me: Don't worry, I have my reasons. I wanted to know right now because, later on in the story, I want to know what your reactions would be for what I really do, and compare them. I wanted to know how your views change once I get farther down into the story. Well, thanks for participating if you do! I'll see you guys eventually! Byes! Be safe! Rest in peace, my Creatures of the Night!  
**


	4. Same Mistake Over and Over

**Me: So I'm either dead or upload very quickly. **

**Deidara: You've got problems, un.**

**Me: Don't rub it in. Do the disclaimer my blondie duo.**

**Deidara: I'm getting tired of this. Nat-chan does not own or have any affiliation with Naruto and it's characters. The only thing she owns are the original characters. **

**Ino: WARNING: ****Vulgar language will be used and other stuff that might not be appropriate for the reading audience. In Reality is rated T for Teens but will turn into M for Mature later on. We thank you for reading this story. **

******Me: Enjoy my chapter! I'm sorry it isn't good.**

* * *

"So what are we supposed to do while we're waiting for everyone else?" Thomas asked and I sighed then looked at Leah.

"Got any plans for entertainment?" She nodded then opened her mouth to say something. "That won't get us arrested?"

"Then, no. No I do not." She said bluntly and Isabel perked up.

"Truth or Dare!"

"Hell no!" Me, Thomas, and Sasuke said in unison and she pouted. She put her hands up like paws and gave us a puppy dog face.

"If one of those dares involve us streaking through the neighbourhood, I will slap the burgundy out of your hair." I said and she smiled then huffed like a dog in excitement.

"Okay, I'll go first. Out of all the guys in this room, who would you screw, Nat?"

"…Hey, Thomas, wanna go first?" I avoided my friend's perverseness and the blonde boy shrugged.

"Dare me." He said with confidence and I was about to say something until Leah cut me off.

"Put six ice cubes in your pants!" We all gave her a look and she chuckled nervously. I rolled my eyes then looked at Thomas who sighed then walked over to my fridge.

"How long do they have to be there?" He asked before opening the freezer and Leah smirked.

"Until they melt."

"Oh, God, I hate you." He muttered then got a bowl and put six ice cubes in it. He hesitated for a bit before tugging his pants a bit.

***Ding Dong***

"Yes! Saved by the bell!" He cheered then ran to the door. He answered and I went down to see who was at the door. It was a girl with black hair that she put in a ponytail and was wearing a nice blouse with matching skirt. She looked like a doll.

"Whoa, what are you wearing?"

"Thanks, Katy. That boosts my self-confidence." I said to my dear unicorn-loving friend and she smiled.

"Hi, Thomas." She said to the blonde boy and he nodded. She turned to me and whispered in my ear.

"Tonya, Marcy, Maria, and Nancy are lost. Tonya was driving and they told me they ended up all the way in the other side of town." She informed me and I cursed.

"Why the hell would they let her drive?"

"She wanted to prove that just because she was Asian, didn't mean that she was a bad driver."

"…Well that plan has gone down the drain. Well, atleast you're here. I was so lonely." I said sarcastically and she giggled. We went back upstairs and who the first person she noticed?

"Wow, you are very scary." She said to Gaara and almost poked his rings. I stopped her before she could and laughed sheepishly.

"Is he part of the entertainment?"

"You bet your princess ass he is!" Leah cheered and I facepalmed. The reason she said princess was because her nickname is Himeko-chan.

"Sorry, Gaara. Most of my friends are touchy." I apologized and he rolled his eyes.

"Wow! These look so real!" Katy said before feeling Naruto's whisker marks and messing with his face. He shrugged and just let her have a feel for his face.

"…Katy, maybe you should stop." I said and she nodded then let go of his face and looked at Sasuke.

"Can I feel your hair?"

"No."

"I'm sad now." She faked a sniffle and he rolled his eyes but tilted his head towards her. She cheered in excitement then felt the area that looked like a duck's butt.

"Okay I'm done now." She said and turned to me. I stared at her blankly and she smiled.

"Hi."

"You ate sugar cereal this morning, didn't you?" I asked and she nodded. I rolled my eyes and sat down next to Gaara.

"Is that how most of your friends act?" he asked without looking at me and nodded.

"Hn. You're a strange girl."

"So I've been told. It's such an honour to have you call me that, Gaara." I said jokingly and he looked at me.

"You're very sarcastic, as well."

"This birch is the queen of sarcasm!" Leah said and everyone else that I knew nodded in agreement.

"I'm not that sarcastic…" I muttered and they all looked at me.

"What about the time that you told me you were adopted because I said you looked Asian?" Katy asked and I was about to answer but got interrupted.

"Or that time when you told me that you would save me from a car about to hit me because 'I'm too valuable to lose?'" Isabel said and wasn't given enough to answer that one.

"Or when you keep telling Mr. Wilson that he has the best students in his fifth period?" Eric said and I gave out an annoyed sigh.

"Okay, I'm a sarcastic bitch. Let's move along now and just wait while the others arrive." I said and they nodded. A moment after, there was a knock on the kitchen door and I saw a familiar face through the doorway.

"Lee came?" Naruto asked and I opened the door. There were three people waiting, Lee, Neji, and a girl with buns in her hair.

"Hello, Nat-chan! These are my friends. You've already met Neji-kun, and this is Tenten-chan!" He motioned and I shook her hand.

"It's nice to meet you. Happy birthday." Tenten said and I smiled.

"Thanks. It's nice to meet my new neighbours."

"Neighbours?" Eric asked and Leah took this chance to be a smartass.

"You know, neighbours. Does the little blondie not know what the word means? It's someone who lives in your neighbourhood." She said in a mocking tone and smirked at her attitude. He rolled his eyes then looked at me.

"What? I don't have any control of her." I said and he sighed in defeat. I don't want to say it's entertaining to see them against each other, what am I saying? It's funny as hell.

"Anyway, they moved into the big house right next to us. Are the rest of your friends coming?" I asked and Neji nodded.

"They'll be arriving in a couple of hours. Except for Hinata-sama and her friends. They'll be here in a couple of minutes." He explained and I nodded. Once everyone got a bit used to each other, and after relaxing from a fire show from Isabel, Hinata and two boys came inside.

"Hey! This is a party? It seems pretty dead to me."

"Kiba, don't be rude."

"Aw, c'mon. Lighten up, Shino. I was just messing around. So who's the birthday girl?" Kiba asked and I raised my hand. He smirked then strode over to me.

"Hiya! My name's Kiba Inuzuka. What's yours?" He asked politely and I smiled.

"Natasha Cortez. It's nice to meet you-"

"Kiba-kun!" Leah interrupted and he smiled.

"I'm Leah! It's nice to meet you! She shook his hand and got a little surprise. A lick to the face by a small puppy.

"Hey! Calm down, Akamaru!" Kiba said and I looked at the dog.

"How do you fit a dog in your hoodie?" Thomas asked and he flashed him a toothy smile, one that showed off his fangs.

"I have my ways. Shino, don't be a stranger. Introduce yourself."

"I already did when we came in. I took you ten minutes to finally introduce yourself?" Shino asked and I giggled.

"Heh, I like you." I said and he looked at me, then adjusted his shades and nodded.

"I'm sorry for Kiba's behaviour, Nat-chan. He's the type of person not even the hungriest of insects would feed on." He said in a voice that would creep some people out, but I looked up at him from my seat.

"Can I see your eyes?"

"No."

"Well I feel rejected." I said bluntly and he sighed.

We waited a couple of hours for everyone else arrived and killed some time by listening to music. Well, Isabel forced us to listen to Muse, but it was fun, nonetheless. I stayed in my seat next to Gaara and wondered about them.

Did I hear him right? Is he really not from here? I want to know but, it isn't any of my business. I did want to know what would happen if Kishimoto's characters were in our world but, actually considering the possibility of them being here, it seems unworldly. Sure, they're a nice group of people but, they're dangerous. _And you sit next to the most dangerous one here? _I asked myself and glanced at Gaara.

"What is it?" He asked without even looking at me and I tensed up a bit. How could he tell I was looking at him? I was trying to pull an excuse from thin air but took too much time.

"Was there something you wanted to tell me?" He asked and I scrambled some words together that might seem normal.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" …Really brain? Seriously? _Do you have a girlfriend? That's what I pull out of nowhere? Now he's gonna think I like him or that I'm atleast a creep. _I mentally cursed and myself and resisted the urge to facepalm at myself. He blankly looked at me, as if he was trying to find out if I was lying.

"No. I don't."

"Why not?" DAMN IT!

He turned to look at me as I was having a freak-out moment in my head. He looked away for a bit then sighed. He took some time to think then turned back to me.

"Look at me. I'm a freak. Blood red hair-"

"Isabel has red hair."

"Rings around my eyes-"

"A lot of people have insomnia."

"The kanji for love tattooed on my forehead?" He asked me to explain that one and I stood silent.

"…I think it makes you look handsome." I covered my mouth with my hand and he looked at me in slight shock.

"What did you say?" He asked and I shook my head.

"Nothing. I didn't say anything." I said in a hurry and he stared at me, before turning away.

"It doesn't matter. No one will still love me…" He muttered in a low voice and I guess it wasn't meant for me to hear, so I put the subject to rest. Katy leaned closer to me.

"Smooth."

"Shut up." I snapped and she shrugged. I crossed my arms, not noticing the small blush creeping onto my cheeks.

"Okay, everyone. Seems like everyone else isn't gonna be here for a few more hours, let's call up for some pizza and prank the deliveryman." I said and Leah looked up at me with a warning look.

"Dude, you know damn well my older brother works at the pizza place. I will not allow you to prank him!" She said while pointing a finger at me and standing on her two feet. "I shall do it. You just want to see him because you think he's cute."

"I do not think your brother's cute."

"Lies! You were a slutty dress of lies!" She yelled and I glared at her. She glared back and stuck her tongue out at me.

"You wanna lose it?" I asked and she covered her mouth with both hands then shook her head.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Here's your present, Nat." Katy said then handed me a large box that she had from behind her back.

"How the hell did you-never mind. I don't care." I said then opened unwrapped the box.

"Bitchin'. A lava lamp. Now I have something to be intrigued by if I ever get stoned." I said and she looked at Eric.

"You can always ask surfer boy for drugs."

"Just because he's blonde doesn't mean he surfs. Besides, he doesn't take drugs."

"You never know. People aren't always what they seem." Gaara said, butting into the conversation and I rolled my eyes.

"I regret my decision of nicknaming people." I said bitterly and he smirked then lied sat into his seat. Katy blinked then turned to me.

"Why did you invite him?" She whispered and I shot her a look. She shook her head and went to looking up at the ceiling.

"…You know he kinda does have the voice and draws blankly on his arm."

"He is not a stoner!" I exclaimed and everyone turned to me. "…Uh, I was talking about the guy from Spongebob?" I asked and they all bought it. _Am I really that understandable? _

***3 Hours Later* **

"Did anyone else hear that?" Isabel asked and I looked at her.

"Hear what?" I asked and she looked at me as if I was crazy.

"The 'Three Hours Later' thing the French guy does on Spongebob!"

"…Isabel, you've had enough soda." I said and she rolled her eyes then shook it off.

Pretty much everyone else that I invited showed up. Due to Leah's _awesomeness_, there were a lot of more people than I expected. It seemed like for every one person we invited, they brought four more friends along with them. My medium size house wouldn't fit all of them so they moved the party to the backyard and the garage.

The music's playing, everyone's having fun, no one called the cops on us, this is going pretty well. The only people inside were the socially awkward people, the slow dancers, and my new neighbours. That's right, I got a chance to meet all of my new neighbours. Sakura, Choji, Ino, Shikamaru, even Gaara's siblings, Temari and Kankuro! Isn't that great?

…I'm in so much denial right now…

Right now, I'm just sitting in a closet, waiting for this madness to end…Seriously, I'm tired. I sighed then got out of my little sanctuary and went up to my room. I could hear the music and everyone else partying from outside, so I let them be. I knocked on my door and waited for a response.

"Wait a minute, this is my room. Why the hell am I knocking?" I asked then went straight inside.

"Hello."

"Howdy-WHAT THE CRAP?!" I yelled and fell to the floor. I looked up at the boy in my room and glared at him.

"What the hell are you doing in my room, Gaara?" I asked and he held his hand out. I sighed then took it as he helped me up. I brushed myself off and looked at the insomniac for an explanation.

"What?" He asked and I rolled my eyes.

"Why are you in my room?"

"Because we aren't really party people."

"What the hell-Hi, Eric?" I said while finally noticing the blonde boy sitting on my bed. He waved a little then lied down on my bed. I stared at them then gave out an aggravated sigh.

"So why my room?" I asked again and they shrugged.

"I'm not much of a social person, and everywhere else in the house was being occupied by love-struck couples and loners." Gaara explained and Eric nodded. He just looked blankly at the ceiling and sighed.

"Your ceiling's pretty."

"It's just white."

"I know. I think Leah slipped something into my drink. That's why I came here. I wasn't feeling well." I rolled my eyes and sat in a sleeper chair that Leah and I like to refer to as "Awkward-chair-thing." Hurray for imagination.

"Great. Now how am I supposed to get some rest?"

"You could sleep here with me." Eric said and I blushed. Gaara and I turned to look at him. He looked at us then blushed to a dark red once he finally processed what he said. He sat upright and started shaking his head.

"N-Not like that! I-I meant that y-you could have your bed back." He explained and I nodded.

"I got it. It's fine. I'm awake now. Just, please don't pass out on my bed." I said and he smiled then nodded.

"Hey! Nat! Get down here and bring the rest of the freaks!" Leah yelled through the doorway and I sighed then got up.

"I'm coming. I'm coming." I grumbled as Gaara opened the door for me, and walked out after me.

"Eric, do you want to stay here just incase?" The blonde boy shook his head and stood up.

"I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." He flashed me a smile, which I knew was fake, but I returned it, nonetheless. He was always that way, not wanting to worry anyone about anything. He walked close to me, I guess so that I could help him if he lost his balance. _Damn it, Leah. What the hell did you put in the drinks?_

Once we reached downstairs, we were greeted by the small puppy Kiba had. Akamaru barked at me and jumped up on my legs. I chuckled then picked him up. He licked my cheek once I did and I giggled.

"Thanks, Akamaru. That makes me feel loved." I said and he yipped in response.

"Well, I should probably give you back to Kiba. Can you show me where he is?" He nodded then barked for me to let him down. I did and he started walking to the back of the garage. We followed him and saw a…strange sight?

It was pretty much the group from earlier except it included the people I recently met, along with my friends Amanda, Daniel, Aliyah, Elijah and,

"JEROME!" I cheered then ran to my friend. I hugged him and he hugged back. He let go then looked around at the people around us.

"Wow, we have some freaky friends." He said while looking at the Naruto Characters-wait, what? _Did I just refer to them as the Naruto Characters? Sure they look like them, talk like them…act like them…_ I trailed off and got lost in my thoughts.

"Hey, Jerome! Check this out!" Elijah said and we turned to him. He had a bag of Fuego Takis in one hand, and on the table there was some…dust made of the Takis. He laughed at himself then sniffed it.

"Oh, God! That's disgusting!" I said and he chuckled then started coughing.

"Hey! I didn't send Akamaru to get you just to see Emu-kun sniffing Takis." Leah said and I looked at her, then smiled. 'I sent him to get you for your motherfuzzin' cake."

"Heh, thanks, Leah. It's perfect." It was a cake in the shape of a Pokeball. This just made my life.

"Alright, before we cut it, you must take a bite." Leah said then went behind me and attempted to push my face down into the cake. I say attempted to because Amanda stopped her.

"No, no, my child. Not this time. She has to do it on her own." She said in a mystical tone and I rolled my eyes.

"Alright, if I'm doing this then I need protection. I don't trust most of you fuckers. Hinata-chan, could you be behind me to make sure that my face doesn't get pounded into the cake?" I asked the bluenette who nodded and did as asked. I leaned down into the cake and took a small bite.

"There, it's done. Now let's cut this birch." I said and grabbed the knife.

"Whoa there, Machete. Maybe you should let me do this." Jerome said and I pouted but allowed him to do so. Once we served everyone we could, many people left to go home.

"Bunch of pricks. Only come to eat the food and dance." Leah muttered as the last guest left. Well really, we had the neighbours and Eric. They don't want to go home yet, which really ticked off Leah.

"Well, happy birthday, kid." Leah said and I looked at her.

"You're less than a year older than me. Why am I the kid? Nevermind, I don't care. This was really a fun party. Thanks for sharing it with me."

"No problem. Does that mean you can finally say that you love me?" She asked as we walked into the kitchen, where the rest of the group of freaks were. I looked at her with a blank face and crossed my arms.

"I don't know how to love." I said bluntly and she pouted then cat in a chair. I smiled then my eyes widened as I could hear someone breathing next to me.

"You can't love, either?" Gaara whispered in my ear and I looked at him with a look of disbelief on my face. I turned to him and noticed that he actually looked like someone might understand. I felt a pang of guilt in my heart, now.

"I-I was kidding, Gaara. I didn't mean it." I explained myself and he sighed but nodded.

"I understand. Forgive me." He said before walking to his siblings. They both looked at me then at him. I sighed then walked to my room.

"Great, now I feel like a bitch." I said while turning on the lights and then heard someone hiss in pain. I jumped in surprise and looked around, to find Eric clutching his pain on my bed.

"Oh, God." I said then went up to him. He opened his eyes to see me, only to hiss and cringe.

"P-Please turn the lights off." He asked politely and I nodded, then did as told.

"What happened to you?" I asked and open the curtains so that the moonlight could atleast light up the room.

"I-I don't know. I haven't been feeling well ever since I got some punch from Leah. I told her about it and she just gave me more, telling me that I'll feel better. Nat," He said while looking up at me. "I don't feel better." I sighed, then ran my fingers through my hair.

"Well, luckily I know what to do in a situation like this. You don't seem like you have to go to the hospital, all you really need to do is stay hydrated and get some rest. You pretty much have a hangover." I said and he groaned. I lied him down on my bed and made him more comfortable.

"It'll be alright. Just get some sleep." I said and he shook his head then sat up.

"I don't want to be a bother."

"You already are but I still have to help you. It's alright, it's my fault, well, Leah's but I should still take responsibility. If you don't feel well, then you can stay overnight. I wouldn't want you to get in trouble if your parents saw you like this. I'll go get you some water." I said while pushing him back into bed. He nodded then turned his back to me. I sighed then looked at a cup that held _the _punch. I glared at it then picked it up and went into the kitchen.

"Did you spike Eric's drink?!" I yelled at Leah and she looked at me as if I was crazy. She looked at the cup in my hand then her eyes widened.

"Oh shit." She muttered and I bonked her upside the head.

"Baka! The boy's in my room with a hangover! Why did you do that?!" I asked and she held her hands up in defense.

"I wanted to see what would happen! He always seems so chill so I wanted to know what would happen if he…got…a little…drunk…Oh, God. I've killed someone." Leah muttered to herself then looked up at me.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" I asked and she shrugged in response.

"Well, now we know that his body skips the whole drunkenness and goes straight into hangover. YAY FOR SCIENCE!" Leah cheered and I facepalmed. Hard.

"Ow, that's gonna leave a bruise. Okay. He is staying over night in my room while you sleep in the living room."

"But I was gonna sleep in your room!"

"You got a boy hung-over! This is the most lenient punishment I could give you!" I said and she pouted like a child.

"Uh, should we go?" Naruto asked and I shook my head.

"No, you can just…just stay, too. Let's just have one big sleepover. Recovering boy in my room, girls in the upstairs rooms. Boys in the downstairs room. Leah, you're safe for tonight" I said with determination and they all nodded.

"What about me?" Gaara asked and I looked at him the groaned.

"You get to make sure recovering boy doesn't die. Thanks, Gaara. Love you." I said while getting some water. I froze once I processed what I just said. _Why the hell do I keep making the same mistake?! _

"Whoa. You shouldn't say that, Nat. You know that some people don't handle sarcasm, Especially about love." Leah said jokingly and I looked at her with wide eyes. The next thing I heard, was a BAM!

Leah was pinned against the wall with Gaara holding her by the neck.

"If you have a problem with me…just say it."

* * *

**Me: Meh, who do I want to do the closing?**

**Katy: Me!**

**Me: No!**

**Thomas: Me!**

**Me: No!**

**Eric: Me?**

**Me: Okay!**

**Katy: Pfft, no. Music mentioned was-wait, there wasn't any.  
**

**Me: Well jeez, really? **

**Katy: Hmph. I'm sad now. I'm just gonna go ride a unicorn.**

**Me: You go do that now.**

**Amanda: looneygirl34, wise choice. I only say that because I'm not that much of an anime person but, who cares. Anyone else? Would would you pick?  
**

**Eric: Me?**

**Gaara: Or me?**

**Me: Bye guys! I'll see you eventually! Have a nice insanity trip!**


	5. I'm Sorry

**Me: Hello my fellow loners of the internet! Did you miss me? I missed you! Thanks for coming onto my story, once again! Ino, Deidara, disclaim this birch!**

**Deidara: Can't we have a break? I'm tired of the disclaiming job, un!**

**Ino: Me too. Can we take the chapter off?**

**Me: Fine. Lazy bums. Naruto! Get out here!**

**Naruto: Okay! Nat-chan owns only her original characters and does not own any of my friends. Kishimoto-sama owns us.  
**

**Me: *Violently shakes fist in the air* Damn you, Kishi!**

**Naruto: This story was also co-written by Jazz-chan, also known as My life is a h0t mess.**

**Me: Shameless advertising! Go to her and read her stories after your done with mine! **

**Naruto: Story contains vulgar language, slight insanity, and bits of randomness. Thank you for choosing this story to continue reading, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"Gaara! Put her down!"

Leah was gasping for air and struggling to free herself from his grip. I kept on yelling for him to let her go but he simply ignored me. Everyone else were simply staring and doing nothing, as if completely unfazed by this. It's like they're already used to this. I was scared, but I was in too much shock to actually do anything.

"Gaara, put her down." Temari warned and I looked at her. She was completely cool during the situation, along with her brother.

"Why should I? She's annoying." Gaara said while keeping his grip. I turned red in frustration but stayed put.

"So what if she's annoying?! She's still my friend and you have no right to do this to her! Let her go right now, you…you monster!" I yelled out and my eyes widened. Everyone turned to look at me in shock and I started to shake a little.

"…What did you say?" Gaara said, not releasing my friend's throat, as she started to turn pink. I gulped then heard something bang into the ground.

"There. I let her go. Are you happy now?' He asked nonchalantly and I clenched my fists. I glared at him as he just looked at me, like I was an amusing sight.

"Now, now, Nat-chan. There's no need to be angry. I was just messing around-"

_**SLAP!**_

"…" He remained silent but blinked in shock. Gaara just stood there with wide eyes, putting a hand on where I struck him. I was glaring daggers at him, and stayed silent. Everyone else looked in between us with mouths agape.

"You…You hit me…" He muttered just loud enough for me to hear. I crossed my arms then looked at Leah. She gasped for air and held her throat, choking on the pain.

"I'm not going to say you deserve it, because you don't."

"Then why would you slap me?!" He yelled at me as he got closer to me, enough for our noses to touch.

"You were choking my best friend! All she did was joke around! And you decide to choke her?!" I yelled and he gritted his teeth at me.

"She was being rude, annoying, and insensitive. If you haven't noticed yet, I'm not nice when someone brings up the subject of…_love._"

"Well just because you have problems doesn't mean you can take it out on someone else! Just because someone's annoying and you don't like them, doesn't give you the right to go around hurting them! Leah's hurt right now and it's because of you! Whether your intentions were to get a message through or to really hurt her, it isn't right!" I ranted at him, a smirk growing on his face as I did.

"Wipe that smirk off your face! I'm not messing around with you-!"

"Natasha, I think you should stop." Temari warned while walking over to us and pushing us away from each other. I scowled at her then shook my head

"So I have to stop my little rant when it gets to rough, but you don't stop him when he's choking a human being?!"

"Now, I must admit, that does seem a little bit unfair." Gaara teased while attempting to cover up his smirk and I looked at him.

"Yeah, well life just isn't fair." Temari said to him and he rolled his eyes but looked at me while crossing his arms.

"You're right. It isn't." He leaned closer into me. "It caters to the strong while the weak ones suffer." He said to me and I snapped.

"Get out of my house!" I yelled and that wiped the smirk off his face.

"What?"

"Get out!" I screamed at him and he glared at me.

"I'm not leaving. Listen to me, you can't just order me around like I'm your little pet. I can stay if I want to stay. I can leave if I want to leave. I can do what I want to do." Gaara said and Temari finally got into the conversation.

"Stop it. Stop acting like a small child."

"Like the one you and Kankuro feared?" Gaara asked and her eyes widened, then calmed down.

"I'm sorry. Really, I am." She whispered and he rolled his eyes then turned to me.

"Like I said before, I'm not leaving."

"If you one day want to have kids, you will. If you don't leave soon I'll-"

"You'll what? Pout like a child until I do?" He mocked then snickered. "I'm sure that I could take on a girl like you. It'll just be a waste of time."

"Fine. Do what you want. I don't care anymore. But once you hurt the people close to me, I care. How you have friends is beyond my comprehension. Hell, I'm sure they're just scared of you right now, or atleast, they have been." I tried to get under his skin, and was succeeding. He growled then grabbed my arm.

"You're right. They were scared of me. But you're the one who should be afraid, now." He threatened and we had a glare-off. I glared right back at him, my eyes bored into his…pretty…blue eyes…

My eyes softened a bit but I never broke my gaze as he continued to glare at me. I noticed he seemed to get angrier once I stopped glaring, as if he dared me to be angry at him. He put his hands on my shoulders and kept me against the wall, looking into my eyes as if he was trying to find any emotion in them.

"Why aren't you angry at me?" He whispered in my ear, just soft enough for me to feel his warm breath.

"It's not you're fault." I whispered back and he looked at me, wanting to know if I was just messing with him or not.

Then he clutched his head and hissed in pain.

"G-Gaara?" Temari asked and he hissed even more. He held his head but made his way to the door, walking out without muttering a word.

"Gaara…" Kankuro muttered and he shook his head.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked the others but they remained quiet. An awkward silence hung in the air, until it was interrupted by someone gasping for air.

"You…assholes…"

"Oh, God. Leah!" I yelled then helped her up from the ground. Lee set her down on a chair and gave her a glass of water.

"Are you alright, Leah-chan?" He asked and she glared at him, then at me.

"I blame you for my death." She said jokingly and I smiled.

"I'm sorry I didn't help you. I didn't what to do in that situation. I was just…angry." I said and she playfully punched me in the arm while drinking some water.

"It's alright. I would've faked out if I were you." I chuckled but looked down. I snapped my head up when I felt someone put their hand on my shoulder.

"I'm going to go looking for him." Naruto said and I looked up at him. Temari crossed her arms then shook her head.

"No you're not. The best thing to do is to leave Gaara alone right now. He needs his space." She explained and Kankuro nodded.

"She's right. We know how he gets around this time. He can deal with it on his own. Besides, the full moon's out, which isn't good." He muttered the last part and Naruto shook his head.

"I'm his closest friend, everyone needs a friend if they're feeling upset."

"Then I'm going with you." I said while standing up and he looked at me with wide eyes.

"Nat-chan, I don't think that's a good idea. Especially considering what just happened." He said and I clenched my fists.

"I know. I was wrong to say that. But, he was hurting my friend, I was just angry at him. I didn't mean what I said…" I partially lied. I wasn't sure how I felt but I felt like whatever happened to Gaara, was my fault. "I want to apologize to him, whether he wants it or not, I'm going to be his friend." I said with determination then smiled at Naruto, who happily returned it.

"Okay then, let's go get Gaara." He said and I nodded then followed him out the door.

"Look for him on the rooftops, he normally likes to seclude himself from everyone else." We walked outside and looked for him at the mansion, he wasn't there.

We looked around the other houses on the street but still couldn't find him. I knew he was somewhere around here, but I couldn't pinpoint a location. _I wonder what this feeling is…Usually I can almost never sense where someone is, I just don't have those type of skills. I wonder…is this-?_

"His chakra." Naruto muttered and I looked at him. He stood still while looking up at the stars, then started jogging away.

"N-Naruto? Wait up!" I cried while trying to reach up to him, except he was a lot faster than I was. Now, I must admit that I do slack off a bit in gym class but, he was really going fast. Not even Eric was that fast, and that boy ran the entire perimeter of the school without a break, or attempted to, until Leah tackled him to the ground.

"Oh, God. I hope Leah doesn't kill him."

* * *

"Hey," Lights on. "Stoner." Lights off. "Wake up." Lights on. "Stop being a wussy." Lights off. "Don't puke, by the way." Lights on.

"L-Leah-chan, I think you should s-stop bothering E-Eric-kun." Hinata warned the trouble some ginger, who looked at her in response.

"Why would I do that? This is fun." Leah said as she turned the lights on and off, irritating the recovering boy lying in pain.

"That's what you get for drinking!" Leah yelled and Eric hissed in response.

"You were the one who spiked my drink!"

"That's beside the point."

"Yeah? Well-Oh, God. Yelling hurts." He moaned then covered his head with a pillow. Leah flickered the lights faster this time with a wicked smile on her face. Hinata looked at her friend then back at the boy hiding from her.

"L-Leah-chan, please s-stop," She requested and the ginger girl gave out an exasperated sigh but did as asked.

"Fine, right after this!" She quickly grabbed the water bottle she put down on the night stand and threw it at Eric's waist.

"Ow! Leah! Get back here-Oh, God, it's too bright." He put a blanket over his head as Leah rushed herself and Hinata out of the room.

"Go. Run away. Just run away."

* * *

"Come on, Nat-chan! Keep up with me!"

"I'm trying! I'm not an athletic person, damn it!" I cursed as I ran towards the same direction Naruto was going.

"Dear Kami, I'm tired." I muttered as I saw Naruto turn the corner. I finally caught up to him as we walked behind an apartment complex, towards an empty park.

Once we got there, I put a hand over my heart, the great pang of guilt finally overcame me. Gaara was sitting on a swing set, slowly swinging back and forth while muttering something I could barely hear.

"I think I'm drowning, asphyxiated. I want to break the spell that you've created. You're something beautiful, a contradiction. I want to play your game, I want this friction…" He muttered in a low voice, eventually stopping his motions all together.

"…What do you want?" He asked without even glancing up to look at us. Naruto sighed then smiled lightly.

"Gaara, we came to find you. Come back, everyone's worried-"

"I wasn't talking to you, Naruto." He interrupted as he looked up from the ground, my dark brown eyes meeting his blue eyes.

"Why did you want to look for me? Whatever happens to me has nothing to do with you-Gah!" He cried in pain as he clutched his head. He shut his eyes closed and gritted his teeth.

"S-Shukaku, s-stop it." He muttered then opened his eyes, looking straight ahead. "That hurts me. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts!" He looked up then glared at the moon. "Stop it now! I've had enough, already!" He growled then collapsed onto the ground.

"G-Gaara!" Naruto cried out and took a step towards Gaara, only to stop in his tracks.

"Don't take another step, this is my problem and mine alone!" He growled at the blonde boy, a look of bloodlust in his eyes.

"Gaara, I'm just trying to help!"

"I don't need your help! I've lived long enough without needing anyone else's help so I don't need it now!" He groaned out then held his head as he kneeled on the ground. Hissing in pain, I've never seen anyone like this. I narrowed my eyes then made my way towards Gaara. _Please let this work._

Once I did, I picked his chin up and looked into his eyes, before kissing the kanji on his forehead. I felt his skin warm up, then felt something trickle down onto my lips. Gaara looked up at me with wide eyes, seeming to be too distracted from the excruciating pain he had before by my little action.

He glared daggers at me then pulled me away from him. I landed on my bum against the cold mulch, which doesn't really make you feel comfortable when you're wearing a short dress, when I noticed that something thick was trickling down from his forehead.

"You're bleeding, I'm sorry." I said softly while looking at him with calm eyes. He was perfectly fine now, except for the pure hatred emanating from him.

"For what? A little blood? This wasn't the first time that I've bled." He said in a monotone voice, eventually softening his gaze at me. He sighed then stood up, offering a hand to help me up. I took it, but was immediately pulled into his arms, into a warm embrace. I looked down then returned the hug.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you. I was scared that you would really hurt my friend. I'm sorry that I've offended you. I'm sorry that didn't take into consideration about your feelings." He let me go as I wiped the blood away from his forehead with my thumb. He shook his head, then licked the blood off my skin, holding my hand while putting his head onto my shoulder.

"You don't have to apologize. I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable in your own home. Forgive me." He whispered into my ear. I stood there frozen but eventually nodded. He pulled away then looked into my eyes, leaning in closer for our noses to touch, for the second time tonight.

"How did you know?" He asked suddenly. I looked at him, then slightly tilted my head in confusion.

"N-Nani?" I asked and he gave me a small smile.

"My pain is gone. How did you know that I would calm down after you kissed me better?" _Fanfictions. _I thought but I couldn't say that out loud.

"I…I guess I just knew." I said while flashing him a fake smile. He instantly perked up then quickly brushed his lips against mine.

"That means that you love me. Your true love would be strong enough to contain my inner demon."

"Say what now?" I asked in shock and disbelief as he nodded his head.

"You love me, which is why you can control Shukaku, your love. Thank you."

"Awww!" Naruto cooed and we turned to look at him. He coughed before regaining his composure.

"So, uh, we should be heading home." He said and Gaara nodded, before taking a hold of my hand and started to make his way to my house.

…_THE HELL DID I JUST GET MYSELF INTO?! _ I mentally yelled as we walked in silence. Naruto seemed to be happy with the outcome of the situation, Gaara seemed like a content puppy, and I was having a mental breakdown on the inside.

Once we finally did reach my house, we must've come into a…_fun_ situation? Leah was all better and played rock, paper, scissors with Lee. Hinata, Kiba, and Shino were playing Monopoly, the shy bluenette was winning. And most of the less serious members of the group were playing Twister.

"What did we just walk into?" Naruto asked and Temari rolled her eyes.

"Your ginger friend took us hostage and forced us to play party games. Although, I must say it's very entertaining seeing Shikamaru turn into a pretzel." She explained before staring at something. I followed her gaze and noticed she was looking mine and Gaara's intertwined hands.

"Uh, can Kankuro and I talk to you guys, alone?"

"No." Gaara denied his sister's request and she gave out an annoyed sigh.

"Hey, slut." Leah said to me then stood up and confronted Gaara.

"Why ya' gotta be chokin' people, man?" She said jokingly and extended her hand to him.

"Sorry about what happened earlier. We good?" She asked and he looked at her, then shook her hand.

"We're good. I'm sorry for my actions." Gaara apologized and she nodded then took a sip from a glass of water.

"Shit, I forgot about Eric." I gasped then took the water away from her. I ran back to my room and noticed the poor blonde boy groaning in pain while violently shaking underneath the covers.

"If it's Leah, I'm pressing charges!" He yelled then groaned at his own volume. I sighed then turned off the lights and walked over to him.

"It's me, Nat. I'm sorry for leaving you alone, Eric. How ya' holding up?" I asked and he sat up then pulled me into the bed.

"I'm cold, I'm hot, and I'm seeing things. I'm not doing so well." He cringed in pain before burying his head into the nape of my neck.

"Nat, I'm hot. Can you open the windows?" He asked softly and I nodded then did as asked. When I got up, I noticed a figure in the doorway, and the poor lighting didn't really help. The light from the hallway showed the outline of the person and I was able to guess who it was. Although, the moonlight did give it away once I saw glowing blue eyes.

Gaara was just standing there, watching me tend to the poor blonde boy. I looked into his eyes, and he looked into mine. That was when I noticed something. _Gaara and Eric have the same eyes. The same shade of a pretty blue…_

"Nat," I broke out of my thoughts by Eric. "I-I'm cold. C-Can you hold me?" He asked and I looked at him then blushed.

He sat upright then pulled me into the bed again, covering us both with a warm blanket. I blinked at his actions as he closed his eyes then smiled, pulling me down with him to lie down. Since he was taller than me, the top of my head reached just below his collarbone, and he kept me there. Setting his hands on my waist, Eric held me close to him, enough for me to listen to his heartbeat.

_**Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump…**_

"Nat," Eric whispered softly, and I looked up at him, a small tint of pink on his cheeks. "Thank you for helping me. You made me feel better even when you didn't have to. Thanks for being here…when I needed it."

"Bullshit! You just want to play Princess!"

"Shut up, Leah." He snapped at my friend, who yelled from the kitchen, then cringed in pain.

"N-Nat, it h-hurts. I see things…that I know aren't there…but they feel so r-real." He whimpered and held me tighter. He looked up at me with fear in his eyes. "Nat, there's a monster in the doorway." My eyes widened and I turned to look at Gaara. Even with the dim lighting, I could tell that he wasn't happy. He glared at Eric but stomped over to me.

"Get away from my Nat-hime!" He yelled, then yanked me away from Eric and held me behind him.

"I didn't have a problem with you until this moment, so I'm going to say this once. Stay away from my girlfriend." Gaara growled and I looked at him in shock, as did Eric. He immediately stood up and confronted him.

"Your girlfriend? Since when did she become your girlfriend?" He asked, seeming to feel a lot better than earlier.

"Since right now. Is there a problem?" Gaara asked and the blonde boy nodded.

"You can't just choose who she wants to be with, that's her decision and hers alone! What if I wanted her, or anyone else for that matter? Huh? You have to let her choose!" Eric yelled at Gaara, who glared at him in return. He eventually sighed then looked at me and held my hands while getting on his knees.

"Do you want to be with me?" He asked while looking into my eyes. I didn't know what to say…

This is Sabaku no Gaara, I'm seriously starting to believe it's the _real _Sabaku no Gaara. Do you have any idea how many fangasms I've had when he did something awesome?! Granted it was only once it was when he came back to life but, I've always wondered if he and I…if we could be something. Of course I knew it wouldn't happen because A: He wasn't real and B: I don't know if he would like me.

But, having him kneeing before me, I don't know what's real anymore. He thinks that I love him, which I don't know for sure, and he seems pretty content with that. I can't just take that away from him. This is as close as having a relationship as I've ever been. I know, cry for the little loner.

_What if…What if Eric stood up for me…because he likes me? _I asked myself then immediately shut that idea down. He was just being nice, even if it was the first time he raised his voice. He was just being nice…

_I guess I'm still thinking that Eric and I could be something, but I'm always trying to find a reason that we would be together, and stay together. _I looked down into Gaara's eyes. _When I look at him, I find common interest. He used to hate the world…only to have them love him. _I finally snapped out of my thought and looked away from Gaara.

"I don't know yet, Gaara. Today was the first day you even knew that I existed, I can't say that I love you, even if I did." I said solemnly and Gaara frowned but nodded anyway. I pulled him up from the ground and held onto his waist, burying my face into the nape of his neck.

"I'd like to try, though. If you gave me enough time to wait and prepare myself, I'd love to be with you." He hugged back then nodded his head.

"Thank you, Nat-hime. It's nice to know that you would…that you would consider being with me." He looked up at me and kissed me on the cheek. I blushed to a dark red and instinctively returned the gesture.

"You're welcome, Kazekage-sama." His eyes widened as I clamped a hand over my mouth. "I-I mean, G-Gaara." It was too late to save myself.

"You know." He whispered and I shook my head. He held my wrists to keep me in place, incase I decided to leave. _Baka! Now he knows! I never meant to call him that-_

"Open the door, right now!" I heard Temari yell and she forced the door open. She came in the room with Neji, Shikamaru, Sakura, and Kankuro, who was holding Leah. She glared at me then turned to Eric. "Out. Now. We have some business to handle." She said in a sickly sweet voice then snapped her fingers.

Sakura walked up to him and grabbed his arm, leading him out of the room while locking the door on the way out. Kankuro set Leah down on the ground and Gaara did the same to me. Something was wrapping around us, something grainy. _Sand!_ Leah and I struggle to no use, when Neji did something with his hands.

"Byakugan!" He yelled, veins showing around his eyes. He squatted down to our level and looked into my eyes.

"How much do you know about us?"

* * *

**Me: Come on, Thomas. Do the closing, my favourite little blondie.  
**

**Thomas: I feel loved. Gaara's little speech when he was in the park was the verse from Time is Running Out by Muse. I have served my purpose! I'm out.**

**Leah: Why do you spell words like the British? Type American!**

**Me: Pfft, I do what I want. I made Gaara pull a Crona from Soul Eater. Any Soul Eater watchers, you know what I mean! Anyway, Real Slim Shady, thanks for the support. It means a lot. read'it'but'dont'believe'it****, I feels loved! Well, it's poll time, I'm still gonna ask this in every chapter.**

**SHIPPING TIME! Who would want Nat to be with, Eric, or Gaara? Tell me down in the comments and d****on't worry, I have a use for this. Bye, my lovely Creatures of the Night!  
**


	6. New Friend

**Me: Hey guys! I know I haven't updated in a while and I'm really sorry about that! Little life tip: Naps are going to be your best friend when you get older. And so will not being able to go to sleep at night because of taking naps during the day! Anyway, I don't own any of the Naruto character, Masashi Kishimoto does and I hope that you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"Can you be a little bit more specific?" Leah asked and looked at her with a 'You've got to be kidding me' face. Attempting to move the only part of my body that wasn't contained by sand, I nudged her with my shoulder, hoping that she wouldn't joke around anymore. Neji didn't narrow his eyes, blink, or glare. He didn't seem to get frustrated with her or annoyed at all.

While I was blaming Leah for our possible deaths, more of the others came inside to help with the _interrogation_. Shikamaru, Shino, and Sasuke came inside, I guess since they could make sure nothing really goes wrong. It was Shikamaru who sighed then stepped forward to question us.

"Leah-chan, this is serious. Not a joke." He said impatiently. I didn't expect _hi__m _to be the one annoyed with us.

"What makes you think I'm joking?" Leah asked with a raised eyebrow, and I slightly turned my head to glare at her.

"Shut up, Leah. Don't say anything stupid." I spat out at her, and she just rolled her eyes at me and scoffed as she did so.

"Don't go all Ms. Kinney on me. Damn that woman hates me. Besides, do you expect me to lie to them? Why would I? Real Konoha and Suna shinobi or not, I'm not a liar…most of the time." She swore to me and I gave out an irritated sigh. Leah was a special type of chattering ginger that just makes you want to bang your head against a cement wall. _Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. You're going to kill us both. _I repeated in my head only to be stopped by a certain Nara.

"Konoha. Suna." Shikamaru repeated, completely unfazed that we actually knew what those things were.

"I swear, Leah. If we ever get caught doing something illegal and we get interrogated, I'm going to kill you." I muttered then heard someone shuffle a bit. I looked up to see Shino-well, what I could see, anyway.

"The villages. What do you know about them?" He continued and unfortunately for me, I could never stop Leah's turbine of a mouth.

"Konoha is the home of team Kakashi, Gai, Kurenai and Asuma. Their leader is the Hokage, granny Tsunade-sama. And Suna is the home of team Baki, and they have their own leader, the Kazekage. Right, Gaara-kun?" Leah asked and I mentally cursed.

"We're dying tonight. We gon' die tonight! Well, atleast we still have each other." I sighed then hung my head as the others shook theirs.

"We need to make sure you really do know about us. What is our natural life force?" Neji asked me and I shrugged.

"Aura?" I tried to lie but I guess that the Byakugan can read stress levels, so he could tell I was lying. Neji narrowed his eyes then leaned closer to me.

"Natasha," He sounded he was talking to child who lied to him. "You know what it is. Tell us." He demanded and I gulped but nodded.

"Ch-Chakra. It's the natural energy in the body. It's made of spiritual energy and physical energy, I think." When you feel like at any time, anyone in this room could kill you, things get a little bit fuzzy so I was a bit unsure.

"Good. You have one more question for tonight," Temari started then turned to Gaara, who looked at me with concerned eyes.

"_How _do you know about us?"

"Do you want the whole story?" I asked and they nodded. I sighed but started my little story. "I'm a music person, I listen to Meg and Dia and came across the song, Monster. I found an AMV…for you." I said Gaara, who simply sighed in return. "So, you were the start of this whole madness. I looked up the series and started watching it, and I eventually told Leah about it."

"Trust us, we know just enough to keep us alive." Leah added and I nodded. To her, that was the complete truth, but to me, it was partially a lie. I know enough to keep myself alive, so much that it pushes into the border of having to kill myself. _They don't need to know that part._

Eventually, we continued telling them about what we know, which wasn't exactly much because Leah was still a n00b while I'm just a retired veteran, and we kept certain details out of mess. Right now, Leah was explaining the Sasuke Retrieval Arc. The whole time she was doing that, I stared straight at Sasuke, and only saw him frown once. I'm still wondering why he would be here if he left to Orochimaru.

"Oh! And the fight with Gaara-kun, Lee-kun, and Kimi-san!" Leah squealed, remembering the battle between the three. I rolled my eyes then sighed.

"Oh, Kimi-kun…"

"Quiet you. Atleast I'm not the one who wanted to bad guy to win-"

"Shut up! They don't need to know that!" I yelled. Okay, just because I wanted Kimimaro to defeat, not _kill_, Gaara and Lee doesn't make me a bad person.

Okay, maybe it does...

"Well, it seems like we can let you go. You're on our side." Neji explained and I gave out a breath of relief.

"Of course we're on your side. We're the protagonists of this story."

"The fourth wall, Leah! The fourth wall!"

"Soory." She apologized in a Canadian accent and I rolled my eyes.

"So, can you let us go now?"

"Or are you gonna save us for some bondage?" Leah asked and I gave her an irritated look. I have special friends, it's just that Leah's a freak.

I looked up at Gaara and stared at him to finally get the hint. He finally did then nodded his head and loosened the sand, just enough for us to move on our own. We stood up and brushed each other off. Once we were done doing that, I made my way to the door.

"Okay, I'm gonna go now 'cause y'all bitches be crazy." I said with the good ol' attitude finger then opened the door, only to have a blondie and a pinkette fall in through. They were dazed and confused then immediately got up and pointed a finger at each other.

"It was his idea!"

"It was her idea!" Eric and Sakura said at the same time and I facepalmed.

Once I realized that they were eavesdropping on a very important conversation, I looked turned to the others. They weren't annoyed that they were eavesdropping, they were mad. _I'm pretty sure it's not Sakura they're mad at…_

"Sakura, I had you take him away so that he wouldn't be involved." Temari growled, and the pinkette gulped, but nodded.

"S-Sorry but, it isn't that big of a deal, is it?" Sakura asked shyly, and Temari crossed her arms. I looked at her then started shaking my head.

"Just because he listened into the conversation doesn't mean anything. It's not like he's going to tell anyone, he doesn't know anything about you guys!" I cried out. None of them wanted to acknowledge me, they just looked right past me and straight at the blonde boy.

"Look, I don't care if you guys are some sort of weird freaks-"

"That's not a nice way to start off your death speech." Leah interrupted Eric and I glared at her. He rolled his eyes at her then continued.

"Who am I going to tell about you guys? They'll just think I'm crazy." He explained but they still held their glares.

"We didn't want to scare the girls, but now we have to." Kankuro started, then glanced at Gaara, who frowned in return.

"From our world, we have enemies. They aren't petty rivalries, they're people that want to kill us. They want to hurt us. They'll do anything to strike fear into the hearts of the innocent." Gaara seemed like the words that came out of his mouth were dripping with venom. He sighed, then brushed a piece of hair behind his ear.

"In fact, back at home, they almost killed our friend. And he was the one that decided that we shouldn't live in a world of fear. The only thing that they want to do is kill him and our other friend, just for power." Sakura gritted her teeth, and it looked like she was biting back tears.

"We left because our home was filled with fear, filled with bloodshed and tears. We finally made a jutsu, that let us escape from that fear. But it was made in vain. They can easily copy the jutsu and come to this world, and make new fear." Gaara continued and he looked at glared at Eric. "If they find out that we are here, this world will be filled with fear."

"Well then they're too late. If any place has fear that can rival yours, it will be ours. You made the wrong decision of coming here, so don't look at him like he's the bad guy! He doesn't even know who you're talking about!" I yelled at Gaara then took a deep breath. "But we do. We know who they are, what they did, and what they can do."

"And we'll be damned if we'll give them the chance to do it. Trust us, we'll keep our mouths shut." Leah promised and I nodded. Gaara sighed then crossed his arms.

"They almost killed me, and they were planning to kill Naruto. I know that for you two, we're too much to lose. But for him," He looked at Eric. "It won't affect him in the slightest way. So I can't just let him go. If he tells anyone that we exist, and that we live here, our lives are in danger. Kankuro, you know what to do."

"Right." Kankuro nodded and I looked at him with wide eyes.

"Please tell me you're not going to do what I think you're going to do." I pleaded and Kankuro ignored me and went up to Eric.

"Girls, you might wanna turn around. I don't want you to see this." Kankuro said and I shook my head.

"Kankuro, tell me what you're going to do!" I screamed and Leah held my arm so I could stay in place.

"Don't be scared, Nat-hime. It won't hurt him." Gaara said while putting a hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him, wondering what was going to happen. _He…He won't d-die, right?_

"Hold still or else this'll be messy." Sasuke said to Eric, then smirked in amusement.

"What? What are you going to…Oh crap." He muttered then stood still, frozen in fear. Kankuro chuckled then put a hand on his shoulder, and made hand signs with his other hand.

"Kankuro! Please don't hurt him!" I cried out, and he looked at me then winked.

"Forbidden Jutsu: Puppet Master's Surprise!" Kankuro exclaimed, then brought his right hand down onto Eric's chest with force.

He grunted in return and started gasping for air. He was struggling to take Kankuro's hand off but started to fade. He arched his back and let out a silent scream, his arms dropping to his sides. Kankuro finally let him go, letting the boy drop to the floor. I was too frozen in fear to have an immediate reaction.

"Nat, you alright?" Leah asked me while taking a hold of my shoulders, which I quickly brushed off.

"Kankuro, what did you do?" I asked the puppet master who kneeled down towards Eric's unmoving body. Kankuro scowled then picked him up and moved him onto the bed.

"Is he dead?" Leah asked bluntly and I looked at her. "What? I want to know if the little twat croaked or not."

_**SLAP!**_

"Don't you dare say that!" I yelled at Leah, who was holding her face where I struck her. "Don't ever say that!" I cried, sensing bitter tears filling up in my eyes.

"I deserved that." Leah said, a little bit stunned that I hit her, but she wasn't mad. She shook it off then put her hands on my shoulders. "Look, you need to calm down. Atleast he went peacefully." I slapped her hands away then started shaking.

"Stop saying that! Stop implying that he's dead! He can't be dead-"

_**SLAP!**_

"Pull yourself together! He's gone and you know damn well he is! Let it go, Nat. It's over." Leah placed a hand over my check from where she hit me, and I looked at her.

"But I don't want him to die."

"Too bad! He dead, girl. He dead." She always used a funny voice when she wanted to make me feel better, but this time it didn't help.

"Well not exactly." Kankuro commented and I looked up at him. He smiled at me, then turned to the bed and started raising his right arm.

"Get up." He commanded. I raised and eyebrow at him and opened my mouth to say something.

"Puppet." I heard the stoic voice that thought had been forever silenced. Eric sat up straight and kept a blank face, like he was a zombie.

"Master." Kankuro responded. He walked over to him and put his hand on Eric's chest. He stayed like that for a bit then back off. Once he did, Eric got up and blinked.

"…What just happened?" Leah asked and I nodded, wanting an answer as well. Kankuro looked at us, then at Gaara. He sighed then nodded.

"Well, I used a Puppet Master Jutsu. By inserting my chakra into him, I was able to make a bond with him. A bond between the puppet, and the master. It's almost like a sealing jutsu." He explained then walked to Eric. "Take off your shirt." The blonde boy blushed but did as told.

"I knew he had abs." Leah commented and I facepalmed. Eric fidgeted with his fingers in embarrassment but kept his eyes locked onto me. Kankuro motioned to his abdomen.

"See? This is the mark that represents the puppet's bond to the master." We looked at it and saw what seemed like a kanji. "This is the kanji for puppet. On my abdomen, I have the kanji for master." He lifted his own shirt up and showed us the mark. Although, Kankuro had multiple kanjis on his abdomen.

"Have come you have a lot of them?" Leah asked while Kankuro tucked his shirt down.

"A lot of people in Suna owe me." He said in monotone and we nodded. He glanced a bit at Eric then turned to me. "Good thing I didn't kill him, huh?" He chucked a bit and my eyes widened. I clenched my fists and glared at him.

"Nat?" Leah looked at me, then wiped something away from my eyes. "You're crying." I nodded, then walked over to Kankuro and slapped him.

"You idiot! Do you have any idea how scared I was?! I thought you really killed him! I thought he died, and because of what?! All he did was snoop a little! Because of you, I felt my heart breaking into a million pieces!" I continued yelling at him, eventually backing him into a corner. "You could've atleast warned me before you were going to do anything to him! If he died, I would've lost my mind over one of the only people I loved in this world!" I let bitter tears run down my face, then dropped to the floor.

"Loved?" I heard two voices at the same time. They were both soft but one was angrier while the other one was confused. I looked up at the angrier one first and saw Gaara, glaring at me, with his arms crossed. I cringed at my stupidity and looked back down, not wanting to look into his eyes.

"So before this madness happened, when I asked if you wanted to be with me, were you lying?" He asked, and I started shaking my head. I heard him growl then he grabbed my arm and yanked me up so I could look at me. "Were you lying?!" He asked and I shook my head again.

"No! I wasn't!" I cried out, sensing hatred emanating from him. He glared at me then bared his teeth.

"Liar!" He screamed, then pushed me away. "Liar! You know that I'm a demon but you dare stand here and lie to me?! I thought you showed me love! I thought you loved me!" He grabbed me by the shoulders and looked into my eyes. "I see it now. In your eyes. It isn't love…It's pity!"

_**SLAP!**_

"…I-I'm sorry!" I cried out after he struck me. I felt stinging on my cheek and the force that he hit me with was enough to make me fall down to the ground. I felt warm tear run down my cheeks, but I suppressed them. I saw a hand in front of me, offering to help me up. I accepted it then was pulled from the ground into someone's arms.

"It's alright, Natasha. It's alright." This voice was the confused voice from earlier. I looked up at him and shook my head. I tried to push myself off of Eric but he held me in a tight grip. He rubbed the back of my head soothingly and let it rest on his shoulder. I was trying to get away from him but he kept me still. He sighed then glared at Gaara. I looked up and looked at him as well.

"N-Nat-hime?" He said in a worried tone then took a step closer. I winced in fear then buried my face into the nape of Eric's neck. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you!"

"Well you did! And now she's afraid of you! No wonder she pities you! You really are a monster!" Eric yelled at him and I finally pushed myself away from him.

"Well atleast he recognizes my feelings for him. I don't pity him! But I don't love him! Haven't you noticed, Eric? I've had these feelings for you for four years! And I've tried to tell you but you never noticed until recently. Right now, I'd rather be with him!" I yelled at him then got up and walked out. Gaara tried to stop me by grabbing my arm but I yanked it away from him.

"Nat-hime, wait!" Gaara yelled while chasing after me. I walked outside of the house and started running to the end of the street. I'm literally running away from my problems. I closed my eyes, not caring about what's in front of me.

I regret that.

I crashed into a body and landed on the grass. Hissed in pain and rubbed my head before seeing a boy that looked around my age and my height. I got a closer look at him and noticed he had crimson red hair. I narrowed my eyes at him then glared at him.

"Go away, Gaara! I don't want to talk to you right now." I stood up and crossed my arms before one of the streetlights turning on.

"Gaara? Who is that?" It was a smooth voice. Calm, and collected. I blinked once I got a good look at him. No dark rings. No blue eyes. And no pale complexion. He was fair skinned, and had chocolate brown eyes that seemed uninterested, but he seemed worried by his voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else. I'm Natasha, by the way, Natasha Cortez, but you can call me Nat." I put my hand out for him to shake and he did. He gave me a small smile.

"It's nice to meet you, Nat. Now tell me, why are you walking alone on a night like this? Shouldn't you be home?" He asked and I scowled.

"I'd rather not be. A lot of things are happening that are causing me stress. Forget about it, you wouldn't want to hear my long story anyway." I said bitterly and he tilted his head a bit in confusion.

"I've got time. Go ahead. Tell me what's bothering you. It's easier to talk to someone you don't know that well than someone like your best friend. Go ahead, I won't judge you." He comforted me and I smile then went ahead with my story.

As I was doing that, we were walking around the block and stopped at the playground just around the corner of my house. I continued to ramble on and he just gave me an occasional nod for me to continue and would smile if something amused him. Let me say right now, he has the prettiest smile I had ever seen.

"So, yeah. That's my story." I finally ended and he looked at me as if I was an musing sight.

"You have an interesting life, Nat. From what you've told me, you seem to have some nice friends, they just don't understand you." He looked into my eyes and gave me a genuine smile. "But I understand you. It's getting very late, I should walk you home." I nodded as we started turning the corner and stopped.

"I just live in that white house. And you?" I asked politely and he motioned to the small house we were in front of.

"Well, I should leave you to make peace with your problems. Goodbye, Nat." He waved a bit before heading to the front door of the house.

"Wait, I never got your name." I stopped him and he turned to look at me, then smiled.

"My name is Sasori. Sasori Akasuna. I'll see you later, Nat-chan."

* * *

**Me: I couldn't just not include Sasori. Sorry if that was just BAM! Oh, and I honestly don't know if I made up Kankuro's puppet master jutsu. If I did, Kishimoto really needs to start working on that because that would be freaking awesome. Anyway, did you guys seriously think I'd kill off Eric yet? Come on! I know that I made Gaara seem like the bad guy but I still have my reasons. **

**Which reminds me!**

**Yes, I am still doing to little poll thing for the story. So, who would you like Nat to end up with by the end of the story? Gaara or Eric? Let me know down in the reviews and trust me, this will be useful. I promise.**

**By the way, guys! I kinda stole Eric from this story and used him in my non-fanfiction story Be Somebody on Fictionpress so if you want to check that out, just go there! I'd be very happy if you did! Alright, bye my Creatures of the Night! Remember to review!**


	7. A New Point of View

**Me: Hello internet! I'm back with another chapter for In Reality! Happy Independence Day in America!**

**Deidara: Was that last part needed, un?**

**Me: I wanted to be patriotic. Anyway, hopefully by the end of this summer I can get a computer and update more frequently and continue being the socially awkward little troll I am.  
**

**Ino: Nat owns no Naruto characters, Masashi Kishimoto does.**

**Me: AND THEN HE STARTS KILLING EVERYONE OFF AND MAKES THE BIGGEST PLOT TWIST FOR THE STORY! THANKS A LOT KISHI!**

**Deidara: Most of this story was co-written by Jazz-chan, also known as My life is a h0t mess. Go read her stories once you're done with Nat-chan's, un.  
**

**Me: Enjoy the chapter guys! It's a little bit different this time.**

* * *

**Eric PoV**

"Ow, this hurts like cra-" I bit my tongue to stop myself from cursing. I don't like to curse, really, I don't. But right now, the place where my 'Kanji' thing is started to sting a lot. I sat down on the bed and clutched stomach. The guy who gave me this whole pain smirked at me, then started to shake his head.

"Well we know someone who won't be cut out to become a shinobi. Even Leah and Nat have more of a chance than you." He walked up to me then checked my stomach. "Well you are just a regular human. I suppose we do have to heal you. Sakura, think you can fix him?" He asked the pink haired girl who looked at me then nodded.

"Sure, it'll be some exercise for me since I haven't used any medical jutsus since we left. I'll get Ino and Hinata as well." She left then everyone else in the room had their eyes turned to me. It was the girl with four pony-tails who finally spoke up.

"Well, you just created a lot of trouble for yourself. Once Gaara comes back from finding Natasha, you'll be next on his Hit List."

"Hey don't joke around about that. If that one gets hurt, so do I." The guy with the spiky brown hair said, and I looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean? If I get injured, so will you?" I asked and he nodded then sat down next to me on the bed.

"Listen, kid. I like you. I think you're a pretty decent guy, so I'm going to tell you what the jutsu actually does. Wait, you do know what a jutsu is, right?" He asked me and I shook my head in response.

"Not really. The only thing I really know about you guys is that you're not from here." He threw his hands in the air in frustration as if he was talking to a child.

"Regardless, a jutsu is a form of mystical art that a shinobi will use in battle. To perform a jutsu, the user must be able to use their chakra. The type of jutsu that I used on you was a jiujutsu, a cursed seal technique. Since I'm a puppet master, I'm able to control and manipulate you like," He pointed down at the marking on my abdomen. "A puppet. Get the picture?" He asked and I shrugged a bit.

"Sort of. That still doesn't explain exactly what the…jutsu does." I commented, trying to pronounce the word right. He looked at me then sighed.

"Well, let's see. The bond that you and I have is one like the bond of a puppet and the puppet master. So, I can manipulate you. With one flick of the wrist," He did as said and I stood up on my own. "A pointing of the finger." He started pointing in a direction and I walked in that direction. "Or just moving my hand up and down," I started jumping and everyone else in the room looked at me. "I can control you in anyway possible."

"Hey, Kankuro! High-five!" Leah shouted then high-fived him. Because of that, I ran into the wall with a sprint. He muttered an 'Oops' and I sank to the ground.

"Hehe, just as planned." Leah muttered and I glared at her. I honestly have no idea why she dislikes me so much. I got up on my own and crossed my arms.

"Well then how is that supposed to keep me from telling anyone about me." I asked and he had on an unimpressed look on his face.

"Let's see. Your name is Eric Evans. Age 17. Lightweight. Track team, straight-A student, never been in detention or gotten in serious trouble. Come from a family of five, one older sister and one younger brother, and you don't exactly like making new friends. Now, how did I know that about you?" He asked me and I looked at him in shock. I shrugged in response and he smirked in return.

"Another perk of this jutsu, is that I've gotten inside your head. I know your past, and I know how you're feeling. Whatever you do will be known by me. I will know whatever you're doing and what you're feeling. So, if you were to tell someone about us, I'll know. That's how we can make sure you'll stay in line." He explained and I was starting to get nervous.

"I never agreed to become involved in any of this. Having my body do things without my control is one thing but you snooping in my head is another!" I said in a raised voice and he just blinked.

"Hey, be happy. I could've killed you. You know, it's not exactly smooth sailing for me, either. If you were to get hurt, I would be able to feel that pain, but I can tolerate it and you can't." I nodded then looked down at myself.

"Well," Leah was the one who broke the silence. "Since you're pretty much a part of Kankuro now, that means you're a part of our group of friends. So let's introduce you to everyone!" She said cheerfully and three girls came into the room. It was the girl with pink hair, the girl with blue hair, and the girl with blonde hair. "Perfect. Everyone's here. Well except for Gaara-kun but you already know him." She gave out a dark chuckle and I rolled my eyes.

"Is this really necessary?" The girl with the four ponytails asked and Leah nodded.

"Very, wait, we're forgetting the idiots. ANYONE ELSE WHO ISN'T IN NAT'S ROOM, GET INSIDE!" She yelled at the top of her lungs and we covered our ears as a bunch of other people came into the room.

"You're even loud outside of school." I muttered to myself and she glared at me.

"Well atleast I'm not a little loner. Anyway, I'm sure that everyone else know you but you don't know them so everybody, introduce yourselves to the blonde stoner."

"How am I a stoner?"

"You have that deep voice, you seem disinterested in everything, you draw on your arm whenever you're bored, which is all the time, and you just have that appearance with your grey hoodie and blue jeans and-Forget you! Everybody say your names!" he first one to approach me was the blonde boy that Nat introduced me to.

"Remember me? I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I'm the greatest ninja in the hidden leaf village but now I'm just trying to keep my secret. I'm friends with Gaara and think of him as a brother so don't do anything that'll upset him." He said in the most serious tone he could then stood in between the pale boy with black hair and the pink-haired girl.

"This is Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno!" Sakura got irritated then pushed him away.

"We can speak for ourselves, you know! Sorry about that, he can be an idiot sometimes. I'm a medical ninja, and I'm the one that supposed to make sure you stay alive, I guess." They both looked at Sasuke who just looked at me.

"Hn." Was all he said before approaching me. "As Dobe said, I'm Sasuke Uchiha. Kankuro said that you were on your track team, so I'm guessing you're fast?" He asked me and I nodded in response.

"I guess so. The school was holding a competition to see who could run the perimeter of the school the fastest and I was doing well until _someone _tackled me before I could finish."

"Guilty as charged." Leah giggled and I rolled my eyes. He smirked then looked in between me and the guy with a bowl cut.

"Looks like we need to have a three-way race, huh Lee?' He asked and the boy nodded. He turned back to me. "We'll put you to the test tomorrow." He stood back with Naruto and Sakura. _Looks like those three have more of a history together. _

"Team Kakashi is done! Next is team is Team Gai!" Leah said in excitement then put three more people in front of me. One had long brown hair, another was the boy with the bowl cut and the last one was a girl with buns in her hair.

"I am Rock Lee! Sasuke-kun and I are two of the fastest ninjas back in our village, so we can't wait to see how you'll do against us!" He said cheerfully with a bright smile and a thumbs-up.

"I'm Tenten. I'm a weapons master, so if you ever judge me for just being a girl," She got out a knife and aimed it at my neck with a fake smile. "I'll hurt you."

"Can I help?" Leah asked and I glared at her. Tenten smiled at me and I knew she was joking around but still. The next one to introduce themselves were two people actually. One was the boy with longer hair and the other was the blue-haired girl and they both seemed to be blind.

"If your first thought about us was that we're blind, we're not. It's because of our family trait that our eyes look like this." The boy said and I nodded. "I'm Neji Hyuuga. This is my cousin." He gestured to the girl and she blushed but smiled.

"I-I'm Hinata Hyuuga." She stuttered out. Neji looked at her then rolled his eyes but smiled.

"She's shy. Very shy. I was thinking, you two would seem like you had something and common so you to can be friends." He said bluntly and Leah laughed.

"You honestly don't know him well. Sometimes the teachers mark him absent because he's so quiet."

"Tell them everything, why don't you?" I said sarcastically and she stuck her tongue out at me.

"I'd be happy to be friends." I shook her hand and she smiled at me.

"Alright, the rest of Team Kurenai!" Leah said and two boys came forward. One had red markings on his face and the other one…well, you could barely see.

"I'm Kiba Inuzuka! And this is Akamaru." He opened his jacket a bit and out popped the head of a small dog.

"How does he fit there?"

"That's what we always ask him. I'm Shino Aburame. If you don't like bugs then you might not want to get close to me." He adjusted his shades and stood with Hinata and Kiba. The next three were the blonde girl, the guy with a ponytail, and the bigger guy.

"Look, Shikamaru, I don't care how lazy you are, it's your turn to unpack this time!" The blonde girl yelled at the guy with a ponytail and he glared at her.

"Listen, Ino. You just want me to unpack so you can go out and get your nails done. I did it last time!" He yelled back and the bigger guy stepped in.

"Why don't both of you do it?"

"Stay out of this, Choji!" They yelled in unison and he sweatdropped.

"Well I know their names now." I deadpanned then turned to the blonde girl with four ponytails and the boy who made the jutsu.

"Suna no Kankuro."

"Suna no Temari." They each said respectively without anything else.

"Alright! Looks like everyone knows each other so hopefully we can all be friends!" Leah said cheerfully and then the door slammed open. It was the boy who hit Nat. I never really learned his name, but I know that I don't like him much-

"I'll kill you!" …And he doesn't like me. He jumped to me and pinned me to the floor.

"You're the one she wants yet you're too blind to see that! You don't deserve to have her! The only reason I shouldn't kill you is because that I know it'll break her heart! I actually consider her feelings!" He growled at me but was pulled off of me by Naruto and Kankuro.

"Sabaku no Gaara. Remember my name because I'll be the one to hurt you if Nat-hime isn't back within the next thirty minutes! And if she has a single tear in her eye, so help me God I will kill you!" He yelled at me and Leah put a hand on his shoulder.

"Trust me. Nat's a relatively strong girl. She'll come in any minute and forgive both of you because her friendship with anyone matters more than a small hit. Don't worry, Gaara-kun, she'll be fine." She said in a relaxing one and he finally calmed down. He crossed his arms but continued to glare at me, and I looked away from him.

_**Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump…**_

I felt my stomach pulse then start to sting. I doubled over and held my stomach. Groaning and moaning in pain, Sakura, Ino, and Hinata came to my side. Sakura pressed her hand against my abdomen and I felt the pain start to go away. I looked down and noticed that it started to glow green. My eyes widened and I pushed her off of me.

"What was that?!" I cried out and she rolled her eyes.

"It's chakra. Softer chakra. It's used for healing, which is what you need." She explained and I nodded. She pressed her hand against my stomach again and it started to glow green as a part of the healing. It did start to feel better but now I felt more light-headed.

"Oh yeah. I forgot to mention that you're going to have a fever within the next few hours." Kankuro mention and I started to feel everything become warmer.

"Wait a minute, weren't you drunk?!" Leah yelled at me and I looked at her then started fidgeting with my fingers. "Were you faking it?!" She yelled again and I looked down but nodded. She went up to me and slapped me upside the head.

"Nat was taking care of your sorry ass and you fake it?! What the fuck, man?!"

"Language." Temari warned and she threw her hand in the air in frustration.

"You just don't-She was-How could-Gah! I give up!" Leah scrambled out and I rubbed my neck sheepishly.

"Well at first I was and that was your fault-Ow, yelling hurts." I cringed in pain and Ino pushed Sakura off of me.

"Let me do it, Sakura! You can't do it right!" She yelled and Sakura narrowed her eyes then pushed her away.

"No way! Lady Tsunade's been teaching me more than what she's been teaching you! I'm a better medical ninja!"

"No you're not! I am!"

"No, I am!"

"I am!"

"I am!"

"Billboard brow!"

"Ino-pig!"

"Billboard brow!"

"Ino-pig!"

"For Kami's sake, Hinata, you take care of this. The rest of us are going downstairs. Come on, girls." Temari said in an irritated tone then dragged the two girls away, the rest of the group following. Hinata sighed then put her hand against my forehead.

"Y-You do have a f-fever. I'll g-get you a water-soaked towel." She said quietly then went off into the bathroom. I looked down at myself then sighed.

"Why did this happen to me? What did I do?" I asked myself in a low whisper and buried my head into my hands.

"E-Eric-kun, what's wrong?" Hinata asked and I looked up at her then shrugged.

"Everything, it seems. I came here because of Nat, because I started considering her as a friend. I didn't know that this was how she felt. And now, because of my ignorance, I have someone who seems to hate me and someone who can control what I do. Is this a normal thing for you and your friends?" I asked and she gave me a small smile.

"N-Not exactly. Although," She started to blush to a dark red. "W-We do have love problems. G-Gaara-kun come from a l-loving home, so he used to just believe in l-love for oneself. Ai, the k-kanji is on his forehead. He carved it in after being b-betrayed by his uncle, the only person he thought that l-loved him. And S-Sasuke-kun is more likely the one to have a problem with h-hate. He h-hates his brother with a passion." She put the wet cloth on my forehead and set it there.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked, not like I didn't care but, wondering why she seemed to be comfortable around me. She smiled bright at me.

"I t-trust you. You actually r-remind me of myself. I'm very s-shy and socially a-awkward. Kankuro-kun said that you were too and, I guess that made me more c-comfortable with you." I smiled at her, a genuine smile.

"And what about you? Don't you have any love problems?" I asked and she blushed to a dark red, then started to fidget with her fingers. She nodded in response.

"T-There is one boy that I like. I've known him for many years but, he d-doesn't really seem to notice me. He's a really good friend, nice, caring, and h-he isn't afraid of anything. In my eyes, he's a p-proud failure. When I look at him, I get an i-intense feeling in my heart, because he is not p-perfect, because he f-fails, he has the strength to get back u-up, because I believe that's what true strength is." Hinata said with a soft and gentle smile, as if he was talking to him. She looked up at me.

"And he hasn't noticed you yet? I can't believe that someone wouldn't notice if someone else has feelings for them." I said in astonishment and she shook her head.

"Y-You haven't. I heard what N-Nat-chan said, and I was surprised that we b-both had the same problem. Y-You haven't noticed her. You haven-t noticed her f-feelings for you. She thought you had d-died, and she sounded h-heartbroken." I looked at her with wide eyes, then hung my head in shame.

"…I actually just thought she was someone who thought I was a nice person. To everyone else, I'm just a silent loner ho won't make a name for himself. I never knew that, to her…I was something more." I said quietly and she stood up.

"I used to always c-cry and give up. I made many w-wrong turns, but he…he helped me find the right path. I always ch-chased after him. I wanted to c-catch up to him. I wanted to walk b-beside him all the time. I just wanted to b-be with him. He changed me. His s-smile is what saved me. That is why I'm not afraid to d-die protecting him, because… I l-love him. But N-Nat-chan, she might have lost it if you d-died. Perhaps she wanted to w-walk alongside with you. Perhaps she would have been s-saved, with your s-smile Perhaps," Hinata put a hand on my shoulder. "She loves you."

"And I never realized it. Everyday when she would say hello to me, everyday she wanted to talk to me, everyday she wanted to be with me, I ignored her love. I can't say that I love her back, but I can say that I have feelings for her. That's something, right?" I asked and she smiled then nodded.

"I know h-how Nat-chan feels, don't make her f-feel like this. Uzumaki Naruto is my love. You are her love."

"Well you could've told me this a long time ago." We heard a certain voice and we turned to the doorway.

"N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata stuttered out and looked at the blonde boy. He had a weak smile on his face and walked to her.

"If I knew how you felt, then maybe I could've made you feel better about this." Naruto went up to her, and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. She looked at him, then started to fall. He caught her in time and picked her up bridal style.

"She fainted again." He looked at her, then chuckled and started making his way to the door. "Same old Hinata." He muttered then closed the door behind him.

'Well that worked out nicely." I said to myself then smiled. "A sweet girl like her deserves to be happy."

"_They will not force us, they will stop degrading us, they will not control us. We will be victorious, so come on!_" My phone started ringing and I looked around for it. I found it underneath a blanket on Nat's bed.

"Hello?"

"_DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT TIME IT IS?!_" The person on the other end yelled at the top of their lungs and I covered my ears.

"Kendall, I'm sorry. I was busy."

"_DOES IT SOUND LIKE I CARE?! YOU SAID YOU'D BE HOME BY MIDNIGHT!_" He screamed and I rolled my eyes. The person on the other end was Kendall. My brother who was younger than me by a year and looks like me but with straighter and darker hair. He's more outspoken than me.

"_MOM AND DAD ARE GONNA START ASKING WHERE YOU ARE! WHAT DO I SAY?!_" He yelled and I gave out n aggravated sigh.

"First of all, stop yelling. Second of all, just tell them I'm still here and I'm going to stay here."

"_You're sleeping over at a girl's house?_"

"It's a group sleepover. There are enough guys to balance out girls. Tell them that I'll be home by noon. I just feel too exhausted to walk home. Tell them that I didn't want to bother them by calling. And tell them that Nat's parents offered." I partially lied. He sighed then groaned.

"_Fine. You're lucky mom and dad trust you enough to let you sleepover at someone else's house. Alright, bye._"

"Wait, Kendall. I need to ask you something."

"_Is it something that could get us arrested?_"

"No."

"_Then go ahead._"

"Alright. You watch that anime show, Naruto, right? Are you far in it?"

"_I'm pretty far. I'm up to the point where Gaara dies._" My eyes widened then narrowed.

"When I get home, you are going to show me every episode. Alright?"

"_I never took you for an anime guy. Alright then. I'll see you tomorrow._" I heard a click of the phone hanging up and I brushed a piece of hair behind my ear.

"I wonder how much Nat really knows about this guy. I know one thing," I looked around her room and found a wooden rosary that Nat had. I looked at it then put it on. "She won't be the girl I ignore."

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**Me: I would like to think that Hinata would be like the most sincere person in the story so far. Anyway, I finally changed the point of view. Anyone noticed that Eric pretty much stole something from Nat? I think that I'm going to have Hinata and Eric be like best friends since they're so shy. I don't know if I'm going to include Kendall that much in the story so I'm going to let him do the music thing from now on.**

**Kendall: Music mention was the chorus from Uprising by Muse. Don't sue us.  
**

**Ino: And time for feedback for the people who reviewed! Leedle Leedle, why didn't Nat include Leah being mad at Gaara?  
**

**Me: I forget things, alright? I have the memory of a peanut.**

**Ino: read'it'but'dont'believe'it, that's two for Gaara and one for Eric.  
**

**Kendall: STEP IT UP, BRO!**

**Eric: Not many people really know me. I don't expect them to immediately go for me.**

**Me: Anyway, ****read'it'but'dont'believe'it, you're the sweetest reviewer I get and i feel like I'm going to let you down in some way so, sorry in advance. Alright guys, shipping time.  
**

**Deidara: Who will Nat end up with, un?**

**Kendall: MY BROTHER! **

**Eric: Ignore him. Will it be me or Gaara? Be sure to review and hopefully it won't be long for the next chapter.**

**Me: Bye my lovely Creatures of the Night!**


	8. Small Talk

**Me: Hello internet! I'm glad you guys liked the last chapter! This story is actually pretty popular. By my standards anyway. My very lovely disclaiming blondes, take it away! **

**Deidara: Nat-chan owns no Naruto characters, un. Masashi Kishimoto does.**

**Ino: Story was also co-written by Jazz-chan. also known as My life if a h0t mess.**

**Me: Shameless advertising! Go read her stories once your done with mine. Thanks for deciding to read my story and I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

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**Nat PoV**

"Holy crap. Holy crap. Holy crap." I kept muttering to myself and I sat down in my front yard. "S-Sasori Akasuna. He's here. And I spilled my heart out to him!" I kept facepalming at myself for being an idiot, then gasped.

"What if the rest of the Akatsuki are here? I have to tell Leah!" I got up then ran inside my house, shutting the door behind me. I ran into the kitchen, no one there. The dining room, no one there. My brother's old room, no one there. The guest room, found Akamaru rolling around on the bed. My room, found Eric. I looked at him and he waved.

"I'm glad you're back. I have to tell you something-"

"Where's Leah?" I interrupted him, and he shrugged.

"Temari said they were downstairs. But, Nat, I want to say that-"

"Can ya' tell me later? I really need to tell Leah something." I closed the door on him and then ran downstairs. Guess what I found.

Leah, Naruto, Ino, and Shikamaru playing chicken fight.

"What the…?" I muttered and they looked at me. Well Ino and Shikamaru did, Leah and Naruto used this opportunity to push them down.

"Oh yeah! Thanks for the distraction, Nat!" Leah said then got off of Naruto's shoulders.

"Isn't chicken fight supposed to be in the water? Nevermind, I don't care. I need to talk to you." I said while grabbing onto her arm and pulling her outside.

"Whoa. What's up with you? I thought you ran away. You all better now?" She asked and I nodded.

"I, uh…met a guy."

"Oh girl, spill it." Leah said then sat down on the grass. I rolled my eyes then shook my head.

"Not when people can hear us. Come on, we need to go somewhere secluded." I said and she groaned then stood up. We walked to the area behind my garage that was separated from the rest of my backyard.

"Tell me again why you have bamboo growing out here."

"I don't know. This house is fifty years old, I'm sure _someone_ was trying to make a living trying to sell bamboo. We did not come here to discuss why I have bamboo growing in my backyard!"

"Right, we came here to talk about that guy you met. Now tell me everything, girl. What'd he look like? Was he hot? Do we know him? Is he our age? What's his name?" She kept asking and I shook my head at her.

"Listen, it was someone that we know, just not personally. He lives in the small house next door." I gestured and she nodded.

"So what'd you guys do?" She asked and I sighed in return.

"Well, at first I crashed into him when I was running away. He asked what was wrong and I pretty much spilled my heart out to him. He was really nice and actually listened to me." I said in a low voice and she smirked at me.

"By the sound of it, I'm starting to think you like him." She chuckled and I looked at her with wide eyes.

"Leah, this isn't a joke. It was-"

"BOO!"

"HOLY CRAP!"

"JESUS CHRIST!" Leah and I yelled in unison then held onto each other. We both heard laughing so we turned to the person responsible.

"Thomas?!" We both yelled in unison and he waved at us.

"You guys should've seen your faces! That was priceless!" He laughed while pointing a finger at us and we glared at him.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" I growled out and he smiled at me.

"That is an excellent question." He smirked then shoved his hands into his pockets. "That I'm not going to answer. I just decided to stick around after the party. I was actually gonna sneak into your house and crash on your couch." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and I smacked him upside the head.

"For God's sake, it's midnight! You scared us half to death! …Were you listening to our conversation?" I asked and he nodded.

"Most of it. I just had to scare you before the reveal." He plopped down onto his stomach and propped himself up on his elbows. "So who was this mysterious stranger? Your long lost lover?" He teased me and I rolled my eyes at him.

"I'm pretty sure that's Eric." Leah jumped in and I glared at her. Thomas' eyes went wide and he jumped up with a smile.

"You like Eric?!"

"You just noticed?" I shook my head in disappointment. I've ranted to Thomas and my feelings and he just realized this. "Yes, I like Eric."

"Aw that's adorable." He cooed and I slapped him upside the head again.

"Freakin' blonde. I've had a crush on him since the beginning of seventh grade." I said bitterly while crossing my arms and he laughed at me.

"So, who was the mysterious stranger that you spilled your heart out?" He asked while wiping a tear from his eye and I sighed then looked down.

"…Akasuna no Sasori…" I muttered and he just tilted his head in confusion. Leah, however, had a different reaction.

"Gasp!" She gasped. "Sasori-san?! You were talking to _the _Sasori Akasuna?!" She grabbed me by the shoulders and started shaking me.

"What's wrong with you?!"

"Am I missing something here?" Thomas asked and Leah stopped shaking me, making me feel dizzy.

"Do you have any idea what he could do to us?! If you even _mentioned_ Gaara, or any of them, we're screwed!" She yelled and I groaned in frustration.

"I know that! So I've got a plan." I said then pulled them down to the ground. "Okay first, once the Naruto gang is back in their house, and Eric leaves, we burn down the house-"

"This is getting good. I can tell." Leah said to Thomas as he flipped his bang out of his face.

"She's talking about plans for arson and you're making Nemo references."

"It's not just arson, it's a plan. Then, we're gonna get some bus tickets to New York, work at a library, buy a townhouse, change our names, and live on with our new lives! We'll be the three musketeers!" I said in excitement and Thomas stood up then crossed his arms.

"What do you mean _we_? Why am I involved in this crazy mess?" He asked and Leah and I looked at each other then sighed in unison.

"Well you do know a snippet of information and that's pretty much enough. Thomas, you are now accepted to become a member of this madness." Leah said in monotone and I rolled my eyes at her. Thomas looked at us with a blank face then shrugged.

"Alright I'm down. So, you have a back-plan if we can't commit arson?" He asked and I scratched my head in thought.

"Wait a minute, Nat. You said that Sasori lives right next door, right?" Leah asked and I nodded in response.

"What if the rest of the Akatsuki are there?" She asked and I ran my fingers through my hair.

"That's what I was thinking, too. So, if one group of the antagonists is here, what about the other one?" I asked and she gasped in return.

"You mean…the pedophile?"

"…Well that just ruined the suspense." Thomas commented and I looked at Leah then rolled my eyes.

"If we actually use logic, since Sasori is here, the Akatsuki must be here as well. And if the Akatsuki could've gotten here, maybe Orochimaru and the sound ninja are here."

"What the hell are you guys talking about? Who's Sasori? What's the Akatsuki? What's an Orochimaru?" Thomas asked and we looked at him.

"Thomas, we're going to bring you to the dark side, just not right now." Leah explained to him and he nodded.

"Leah, if Orochimaru might be here, why isn't Sasuke with him?" I asked and she looked at me with wide eyes.

"That's a really good question. Gaara said that they almost killed him, so they must've been in the Kazekage Retrieval episodes when they came here. Sasuke was long gone by then. What's he doing here right now?" Leah pondered and I sighed then stood up.

"I'm going to go talk to him about that. You guys head back inside, we can't risk the Akatsuki finding out that we were talking about this." I started to make my way to the house but someone stopped me by grabbing onto my arm.

"No, let me do it. You need to talk to Gaara." Leah said and I looked at her, then nodded.

"Come on, Thomas. You'll be sleeping over tonight." I muttered and the blonde boy followed me into the house by using the upstairs back entrance. Leah used the one downstairs.

"Nat,"

"Yeah, Thomas?"

"Your eyes are red. Were you crying?"

**Leah PoV**

"Where did Nat go? What did you guys talk about?" Temari asked and I sighed.

"Just…boys. We talked about boys." Well I wasn't lying. She rolled her eyes at me then left. I walked over to Sasuke but someone got in my way.

"Is she alright?" Gaara asked in a worried tone and I smiled at him.

"She's fine. She actually seemed to forget about the whole thing. She just needed to clear her head, that's all." _That's all he needs to hear._ I thought to myself, he didn't need to hear anymore because I know what his reaction would be. He smiled at me then started to walk off.

"Gaara," I called and he looked back at me. "Don't go to her now. She still needs a bit of time. Just wait a few minutes." He looked at me then nodded and left.

"I did a good." I praised myself then went back to finding Sasuke. He was sitting at the end of the couch with a bored expression on his face and a cup of soda in hand. He looked up at me then away.

"What is it?" He asked and I gave him a small smile.

"I really need to talk to you, but it needs to be in private." He looked up at me then blinked and stood up.

"If it's that important, I know a place." He took my hand then led me to the mansion next door.

"Wow, this place is amazing." I said in awe. This place really was amazing. Nat described it to me when she was friends with the people who lived here before, but, I never thought it would be like this.

The floor had pure white tiles, while the walls were more of a cream colour. When you walk inside, you would see a massive staircase and a view of the living room. It had a large purple couch, a white recliner, and an ottoman in front of a fireplace, all on top of a beautiful black rug.

"Take your shoes off, be more comfortable." Sasuke said and I did as told.

"I forgot that you guys were Japanese." I muttered and he led me to the kitchen. We sat at an island and he gave me a water bottle.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" He asked while staring into my eyes and I felt my cheeks heat up.

"Well, uh…how could you guys afford this?" I panicked, alright? He looked at me then around the house.

"With all the money we had while performing missions back in our world, and Gaara being Kazekage, we were able to convert our money into American currency, and we just had enough to afford this place. But, that wasn't what you wanted to ask me, now was it?" He said in monotone and my eyes widened.

"Um, no, it wasn't. What I really wanted to ask, Sasuke-kun, was…why are you here?" I asked and he looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"I remember Gaara explaining that we came here because we thought that this world was better than our own."

"That's not what I meant. I mean…why are _you_ specifically here? I thought you left to train under Orochimaru." I scowled at his name. I honestly do not like that man. Sasuke noticed this and he looked at me.

"Even without the Sharingan, I can tell you don't like him. Well, Leah-chan, believe it or not, Naruto is the reason I'm here." I instantly perked up and listened intently. "I did leave to go train with Orochimaru. When I learned that the hyperactive idiot was training with Jiraiya, I went to pay them a visit. Not with the intent to kill, of course." He explained and I nodded.

"So, what did he do to make you come back?" I asked with genuine curiosity and he sighed then gave me a weak smile. Or smirk, I couldn't tell.

"He didn't do anything directly to make me come back. When I saw how hard he was training, just to bring me back, I was touched. Now, when we were teammates, I knew that he already trained hard, to prove that he can be someone successful in the village, even when everybody used to think he was a nobody. This time, he was training to prove to himself, and to me, that he could bring me back. After that, I defected from Orochimaru and went back to the village." He explained with a smile on his face. A smile that I've always wanted to see in real life.

"When did you come back to Konoha?" I asked and he gave me a small glance, then looked down.

"I don't exactly remember. I had been with Orochimaru long enough for me to learn some new jutsus, but it was when I was fifteen."

"So you were back in Konoha by the time that Gaara was kidnapped by the Akatsuki, weren't you?" I asked and he nodded.

"For Naruto's sake, I became friends with the young Kazekage. Not only was that abduction a chance to prove my loyalty, it was a chance for me to find my brother." He said bitterly, then narrowed his eyes.

"Itachi Uchiha. I know." I said and he gave out a low chuckle.

"I was an idiot for thinking he would actually let himself fight me then and there. Once we found out it was a sleeper agent, we went on ahead. As you already know, Gaara hadn't survived the extraction of Shukaku, which hit Naruto hard. When he and Lady Chiyo revived him, he was the happiest he could've ever been. It was after that incident, which Naruto and Gaara decided to be done with that world of hate. They couldn't take it anymore, so they created a jutsu to leave."

"Why did you want to leave?" I asked and he took some time to think.

"Well, the same reason they wanted to. I was tired, Leah-chan. I was just tired of everyone's desire for power, even my own. I finally realized that Itachi was messing with my head, telling me that I was too weak because of my lack hatred…" He said solemnly and I looked at him.

"So, does that mean you're done with trying to avenge your clan?" I asked and he snapped his head up, a look of determination on his face.

"No. I may be in this world now but one day, I'll make Itachi pay. Once I finally realize what it's like to live in a peaceful world, I'll go back to my home filled with chaos. It may not seem like it to you or Natasha, but this world is better than our own. He doesn't have that pleasure, and I'll make sure he never can." I could tell by the tone in his voice that he wasn't fooling around. I remembered what Nat and I talked about, and my eyes widened. I looked at Sasuke, I didn't have the heart to tell him that his brother might already be here, but I know that I had to.

"Sasuke-kun, I have to tell you something." I tried to ease into it and he looked at me with those pure back eyes. "There…There may be a chance that the Akatsuki are in this world already." I said soft enough for him to hear me. He looked at me then activated his Sharingan.

"I can tell you're not lying by your chakra flow. If you were lying, it would be irregular. Now, tell me Leah-chan, why would you think that?" He was testing me, I know it. I looked up at him, straight into those red eyes, to show him that I wasn't going to be scared.

"Make me a promise first."

"What about?"

"Promise me that you won't get mad at Nat." I said and he narrowed his eyes at me, then sighed in return.

"I promise. Now, tell me why you think the Akatsuki might be here."

"Well, when Nat ran out after the whole ordeal with Gaara and Eric, she bumped into someone." He glared at me then stood up.

"Was it Itachi?" He asked and I shook my head. He calmed down then sat back down.

"It was Sasori. Sasori Akasuna."

"The puppet master?" He asked and I nodded. "She ran into him?"

"Well, they kinda had a long conversation…"

"About?"

"…Nat pretty much spilled her heart out to him about what was happening." I said bluntly and he had a deadpan look on his face.

"So, he pretty much knows that we're here."

"Uh-huh."

"…We have to tell the others." He started to walk out but I stopped him by grabbing onto his hand. He looked back at me then deactivated his Sharingan.

"Listen, if you think he would do something, don't you think he would've already done it? I mean, he easily could've taken care of Nat while they were alone, and he could've come here to deal with you guys." I explained and he looked at me then sighed in defeat.

"You're right. But there's no reason that we shouldn't tell them anyway."

"Maybe because it'll defeat the purpose of you guys being here. If they find out then you guys will have to move again, do you really want to do that? It'll just be our little secret, alright?" I said and he took some time to think about it, but nodded in response.

"Why would you tell me that?" He asked and I frowned.

"Well, since Sasori is here, that means the Akatsuki should be here, right?" I asked and he nodded. "So, if the Akatsuki are here, who's to say that no one else is here? Sasuke-kun, I wanted to ask, you wouldn't know if Orochimaru is here, would you?" I asked and his eyes widened.

"I haven't thought about that. I honestly don't know if he is here. It's too early for us to be thinking about that. Come on, the others would start wondering about us." I nodded and followed him outside to go back to Nat's house.

"You know, your chakra signature is really pretty." Sasuke said, breaking the silence and I blushed then looked at him. "It's a pretty shade of red. Passionate, anger, heat and energy, all wrapped up in one." He commented and I smiled at him.

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun." I said politely and he stopped to look at me.

"Your chakra signature is strange, you know that? It's nice though. You know, I've never told anyone that. Can I trust you to keep a secret?" He asked and I looked at him and nodded. I don't need my Sharingan to know that you're telling the truth." He smiled at me and I started to lean in closer to him.

"Sasuke-kun?" I said softly, staring into his black eyes. He stared back into my green eyes.

"Yeah, Leah-chan?" He asked, leaning closer so that our noses would touch. I closed my eyes then puckered up and felt his lips against mine. Surprisingly, he kissed back, and put his hands on my shoulders to keep me where I was. We stayed like that for awhile and I was the one who pulled back. I looked at Sasuke then smiled.

"I really like you."

* * *

**Me: I just realise I've been writing this story for more than half a year and this is the eighth chapter. Wow, I'm horrible with time management. So when I told the boy who inspired Thomas in this story that I had a crush on the boy who inspired Eric, that was his real reaction. That boy is something special. Anyway, I couldn't just let Nat have a love life. The category section does say Gaara AND Sasuke. Luckily it went smoother for Leah. I also couldn't just let Leah and Nat have all the fun. So now Thomas is involved. **

**Thomas: I'm an A-list character now!  
**

**Me: I'm not sure who I'll pair him up with but I'll be able to figure out something. So, was Nat to quick to trust a stranger that she spiller her heart out to? I think so. I hope you guys like the pairing of Leah and Sasuke. So, do you guys think that the rest of the Akatsuki or Orochimaru are there? We'll see how that plays out later on. Alright, feedback time.**

**Ino: read'it'but'dont'believe'it, see, you really are nice** **reviewer. Thanks for being interested in the story.**

**Deidara: AliceLaw, we're glad you liked his point of view, un. We are starting to wonder what you thought he was like, though. dragonwolfcat, eventually they do have to go back, huh? Well, we've still got plenty of chapters to go so it won't be for a while, un.**

**Me: Wooimmafox1305, most of my characters do end up with Gaara, so good point. VenusViagra, first of all, nice name, it's clever. I'm really glad you liked it. Kendall, do the shipping part.**

**Kendall: Who do you guys want to see Nat end up with? My brother, Eric, or Gaara. Right now it's even. 3 for Eric and 3 for Gaara. YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT, BRO! YOU WERE BARELY IN THE CHAPTER!**

**Eric: How was that my fault? Nevermind, I'm ignoring you. be sure to review and say which you want to see Nat end up with by the end of the story.  
**

**Me: Bye my lovely Creatures of the Night!**


	9. Karaoke, A Whole New World

**Me: I hope you guys know that I always try to make sure the word count is even. It absolutely destroys me when it's not. Anyway, this chapter is more of a filler so sorry filler haters. Alright my disclaiming buddies, go ahead. Let me just sulk in a corner at the fact that I had absolutely nothing to do today which was why I updated so quickly.**

**Deidara: Nat-chan doesn't own the Naruto characters, un. Masashi Kishimoto does. Nat-chan also doesn't own any music or version of music in this chapter.**

**Ino: This story was also co-written by Jazz-chan, also known as My life is a h0t mess. Go read her stories once you're done with Nat's. Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"I like you too, Leah-chan." Sasuke gave me a peck on the cheek and my eyes fluttered. _Sasuke Uchiha likes me too! This is the best day ever! I'm so happy!_ I mentally cheered as Sasuke held my hand.

"Come on, let's head back." I nodded in response then we finally started walking back to Nat's house.

"Sasuke-kun, am I going to be able to go to the mansion again?" I asked and he looked at me then nodded.

"Of course. You and Natasha seemed to have easily made friends with us and we can trust you. You two can come over whenever you'd like to. I just ask that you let us do the same."

"Well Nat doesn't exactly like people coming over between four and seven on weekdays and two and five on weekends because that's when she naps. Other than that, you're good." I explained with a smile and he returned it. We finally made our way to the front door and I rung the doorbell. Hinata was the one who answered.

"O-Oh. You're back. Come i-inside, everyone's d-downstairs." She stuttered and I think I saw her glance down at mine and Sasuke's intertwined hands. She smiled at us then led us downstairs. We found the rest of the Naruto gang, and Nat, Thomas and Eric.

"Oh hey, Stoner's all better." I poked Eric's forehead and he scowled.

"Please don't touch me."

"Someone's anti-social." I teased and he rolled his eyes at me. Hey, I don't hate the guy. It's just fun messing with him. The guy's so quiet and expressionless in class, seeing him get irritated is a change. I'm pretty sure he knows that.

"Leah, stop bothering the guests." Nat warned without even looking at me and I laughed.

"But it's fun!" She rolled her eyes at me as well but smiled at me. Nat knows that I mess around and she's still cool with it.

"So, the night's still young. Whatcha' wanna do?" I asked as Sasuke and I took a seat on the couch.

"You wanna look in my parents' old room and find something entertaining?"

"To the thrift shop!"

"I CAN'T CALL IT THAT ANYMORE BECAUSE OF FREAKIN' MACKLEMORE!" She yelled at me then threw her hands in the air in frustration. She stood up and went to her parents' room. "Let's just find something entertaining in there." She said bitterly and I looked at Sasuke. He sighed then let go of my hand and I followed Nat.

"Tell me again why you called it the thrift shop anyway?"

"Because, whenever I would I come down here to put something back, I find four cool things to take back with me." She explained and we looked around.

"Now tell me again why there's a small room inside of this room." I said while looking around in said room. She looked at me and rolled her eyes.

"That used to be my old room. There used to be a door separating the two but now it's gone." She said while looking around for something for us to play with. I pretty much have the attitude of a small child, don't judge me. I looked around and finally found something.

"A karaoke machine!"

"I don't remember buying that." Nat walked over to me to look at it. It was a smaller version that seemed more portable and we could be able to connect it to our iPods.

"You think everyone wants to sing?"

"That or we force them."

"Nice plan." Nat commented then helped me bring it out to the living room.

"Oh are we gonna sing?" Thomas asked while battering his fists like a small child. We looked at him then nodded.

"You actually expect us to sing?" Temari asked and I nodded. She rolled her eyes but didn't disagree, neither did anyone else for that matter.

"So, no one says nay. Who wants to go first? Nat, thank you for volunteering."

"I never raised my hand."

"Too bad. I said I was gonna force you guys, didn't I? Or does anyone else want to go?"

"I do! I do!" Naruto raised his hand in excitement and I passed him the microphone.

"Alright, now pick whichever song you'd like." He smiled but looked at someone in particular.

"I want to do a duet." He said and I followed his gaze.

"Well, choose your partner." I said already knowing who he'll pick.

"Come on, Teme." Naruto said to Sasuke who gave him a look in return. He sighed but stood up anyway. Naruto smiled then they both tried to figure out which song they wanted. When the beat started to play, Nat and I cheered.

"Yeah here we go for the hundredth time, Hand grenade pins in every line. Throw 'em up and let something shine, Goin' outta my fuckin' mind. Filthy mouth, no excuse. Find a new place to hang this noose. String me up from atop these roofs, knot it tight so I won't get loose. Truth is you can stop and stare, run myself out and no one cares. Dug the trench out laid down there with a shovel up out of reach somewhere. Yeah, someone pour it in, make it a dirt dance floor again. Say your prayers and stomp it out when they bring that chorus in." Sasuke started off the song then passed the mike to Naruto.

"I bleed it out digging deeper just to throw it away. I bleed it out digging deeper just to throw it away. I bleed it out digging deeper just to throw it away, just to throw it away, just to throw it away. I bleed it out! I've opened up these scars, I'll make you face this! I've pulled myself so far, I'll make. You. Face. This. Now!"

Once Naruto was done singing and finished the song, he passed the microphone back to me. We continued on with everyone singing and I have to say, I had no idea what some of their music preferences were like.

Shikamaru and Choji sang Smells Like Team Spirit, which was when me and Nat got all excited. Kiba and Shino sang Resistance and I was so happy that they knew about that song. Apparently Neji and Lee didn't want to sing so we didn't press. Sakura, Ino, Tenten, and Hinata, although the last one was very soft, sang Girls just wanna have fun and the Sand Siblings were trying to figure out if they wanted to do one at all.

"Come on, guys. Why not?" I asked the three and they all looked at me.

"I'm a puppet master, not a singer." Kankuro debated and I crossed my arms then looked at Temari.

"I just don't really feel like it." I rolled my eyes then looked at Gaara. I opened my mouth to say something but he stopped me.

"Hell no."

"But it'd be fun!" I tried to persuade them then turned to Nat for some support.

"What if you guys make it into a band thing? Can you guys play instruments?" She asked and they shrugged.

"I can do drums." Kankuro said and we turned to Temari. She looked at us then groaned.

"I'll do vocals." I cheered in victory then turned to Gaara.

"I can play guitar."

"I don't know that." Nat commented and he smirked at her.

"Nat, do you think you have a drum set and a guitar in your parents' room?"

"Probably." She got up and looked for said instruments then came back shortly after. "I had no idea we a bass guitar. Why the hell do my parents even have that in their room?" She asked herself then shook her head. She gave Gaara the guitar and set the drum set down for Kankuro.

"Now, it'll be a surprise." Temari snickered as they started to get ready. We all sat down to enjoy the show. Nat sat in between Eric and Thomas while I sat at the end of the couch with Sasuke. When Kankuro started the beat, I thought it sounded very familiar. _It sounds like the beginning of Billy Jean by MJ. _I thought to myself then Gaara came in with his part.

"OH MY GOD I LOVE YOU GUYS!" Nat yelled in excitement and they smiled at her.

"Tonight, my head is spinning. I need something to kick me up. I've tried, but nothing is working. I won't stop, I won't say I've had enough. Tonight, I start the fire! Tonight, I _break _away! Break! Away from everybody. Break! Away from everything. If you can't stand, the way this place is, _take _yourself to higher places!" Temari sang and Nat was smiling like crazy.

"It's a Three Days grace song. One of her favourites." I muttered to myself, smiling at her excitement. Once they finished, Nat went up to Temari and gave her a big bear hug.

"Adam Gontier would be proud!" She pulled herself away from her and latched onto Kankuro.

"Neil Sanderson would be proud!" She pulled herself away from him and went over to Gaara, who sighed but held his arms out away. She shook her head then kissed him on his cheek.

"Barry Stock and Brad Walst would be so happy!" She finally gave him a bear hug and they fell onto the couch. He blinked then hugged her back.

"You guys just made my night!" She squealed then buried her head into his chest. They both looked up and into each other's eyes.

"Now kiss." I whispered and Sasuke nudged me. They did lean into each other, each of them closing their eyes.

"Hey! The others didn't go yet!" AND THEN NARUTO HAD TO RUIN THE MOMENT! Gaara looked up at him then glared at him.

"Naruto," He warned but Nat got off of him and sat back down in between Eric and Thomas. The former kept on looking at her.

"He's right." I commented, and I looked over at the three.

"Who wants to go first?" Thomas asked and I smiled.

"Me! Me! Choose me! Don't reject my love, pick me!" I kept jumping up and down like a small child while waving my hand around. He facepalmed then pointed at me.

"Okay, Leah. You go." I cheered then started to get ready for the song I chose.

"I need another story. Something to get off my chest. My life gets kinda boring, need something that I can confess. 'Til all my sleeves are stained red, from all the truth that I've said, come by it honestly I swear. Thought you saw me wink, no, I've been on the brink, so tell me what you want to hear! Something that will light those ears! Sick of all the insincere, so I'm gonna give all my secrets away. This time don't need another perfect lie! Don't care if critics ever jump in line! I'm gonna give all my secrets away." I used my genuine singing voice and saw that Sasuke was smiling at me.

I'm in band, but I'm a pretty good singer, if I do say so myself. Once I ended the song, everyone clapped for me and Nat cheered.

"Alright, who's up next?" I asked and Thomas raised his hand. He got up and took a deep breath.

"Just a little background information, I'm pretty sure that all of us are singing our songs from the heart. So, if I act a bit bitter towards you, I kinda hope this song will shed some light on it." Once Nat heard the beginning of the song she stood up then high-fived Thomas.

"Sick Puppies!" She cheered and he smiled.

"The window's cracked I'm lookin' out, I see her and I'm filled with doubt. I don't know if this parking place is just another empty space. Words I said are comin' true, I don't know if it's me or you. This promise is too hard to keep, I have to speak. So what I lied?! But the truth would've been suicide! Monogamy is all she wants from me but I see my life! And it's way too short! Don't blame me for not being subservient to others' needs. I'm at the point where honesty just doesn't ever work for me!" He barely took any breaths in between singing. Once he finished, he did take a deep breath.

"Oh, God I need air." He said in between panting and Eric gave him a water bottle.

"Nice job."

"Thanks, man. You're up next." Thomas patted Eric's back who sighed in return. He went up to Gaara who narrowed his eyes at him.

"May I borrow the guitar, please?" He asked politely but I could tell that it wasn't genuine. Gaara gave it to him and crossed his arms.

"I didn't know blondie boy could play guitar." I commented and he looked at me.

"I've been playing for six years. You guys saw me at the talent show last year with my guitar."

"Oh right. I threw a water bottle at you." I chuckled to myself and he flipped his hair out of his face. The song started out with a gentle chord and he kept looking down.

"I know they say that the space between, can make it stronger than we've ever seen. They might be right but I disagree, 'cause I've never felt stronger than when you're with me. Sometimes I wonder why you even care, 'cause even when I leave you're always there with me. And like a candle makes a brighter place, this mark you've made on me can't be erased." His voice started to crack and he looked up from the ground. "I wanna be so far gone in you. So far nothing else will ever do. I wanna be so far gone in you, in you…" He looked up at someone in particular and I followed his gaze.

"Gaara might've made her happy when he was able to play a Three Days Grace song, but this might actually make her heart melt." I said just enough for me to hear, as I looked at Nat. She was staring into his eyes just as he was staring into hers.

"I've stood alone and I've fallen down, your hands were there to pick me off the ground. Sometimes I cry cause I can't believe, your love is big enough to cover me. Sometimes I've wondered if you're even there, but when I feel far away you meet me there. And like a candle makes a brighter place, this mark you've made on me can't be erased, yeah…" I kept looking in between Eric and Nat, I know that she knew the words to the song, so she knew what they meant.

"I wanna be so far gone in you, so far nothing else will ever do. I wanna be so far gone in you, in you…I wanna be so far gone in you, so far nothing else will ever do. I wanna be so far gone in you, in you…I wanna be lost." He stood up and smiled at her. "I wanna be lost in you, like a ship in the night! I wanna get lost in you, underneath your sky. I wanna be lost in you, like a ship in the night. So far gone tonight. I wanna be so far gone in you, so far nothing else will ever do. I wanna be so far gone in you, in you…So far gone in you, in you, in you. So far gone in you." He finished off with a sweet smile, and we clapped.

"Alright guys, who do you think is the winner?" I asked and they all debated.

"The Sand Siblings!" Nat, Ino, and Tenten said in unison.

"No way! Eric was great!" Sakura, Kiba, and Naruto said.

"Well Thomas was awesome!" I said in unison with Lee, Neji, Shikamaru, and Choji.

"Ha, the majority wins!" I cheered and Thomas blushed.

"You were great! Don't be embarrassed, you barely took any breaths in that song! Right, guys?" I asked around and everyone else nodded. "So, you are winner of tonight's karaoke battle, which was completely unplanned."

"Here's a chocolate bar. That's your prize." Nat said and he smiled then took the candy.

"Well that killed an hour. Anything else you guys want to do?" I asked Nat and she shrugged.

"Wanna watch American Horror Story: Asylum?"

"Why not?" She smiled then set the DVR to her favourite show. While she was doing that, I saw both Gaara and Eric were staring at each other. The former mouthed,

'She's mine. You need to back off.'

**Nat PoV**

"So…what exactly is the deal with your new friends anyway? When I asked if you were crying earlier, you said you didn't wanna talk about it because they were here." Thomas whispered in my ear and I looked at him.

"Hey, guys. Do you think Thomas can be in this whole mess with me and Leah? He can keep your secret." I asked aloud and Temari looked at me.

"Will it help you guys get through the whole transitioning phase of getting used to us being here?"

"Very much so."

"Then you can go ahead and explain it to him." She nodded and I cheered. I turned to Thomas and started explaining the whole mess to him.

"So, since these guys are from the Naruto world, and they're now here-"

"Question." He interrupted. "What is Naruto?" He asked and I looked at him. We never told him about our fandom.

"…I CAN SHOW YOU THE WORLD!" I started passionately singing and he facepalmed. "Shining, shimmering, splendid! Tell me, Thomas, when did you last let your heart decide?" I got up and as did Leah.

"We can open your eyes! Take you wonder by wonder! Over, sideways and under, With the ninjas by our side!" She sang and we pulled Thomas up to his feet.

"A whole new world! A fantastic anime to show you! An awesome show, six hundred episodes! It feels like you're dreaming!" We sang in unison and he looked at us then facepalmed.

"Let's just get this over with. Show me this whole new world, just show it already." We smiled at him then sat back down on the couch.

"A thrilling chase! A wondrous place! Just for you and me!"

* * *

**Me: I hope you guys have heard of the music. Or else I'll just feel all alone. So, if the Naruto gang and my OC's did compete in a karaoke battle, who do you guys think would win? Who do you think caught Nat's attention more, Gaara with the bass and Three Days Grace, hey look a rhyme, or Eric with the bass and Thousand Foot Krutch? Feedback time. ****  
**

**Deidara: JupiterGenitals, why that name, un? Anyway, we're very glad that you enjoyed the chapter. **

**Ino: read'it'but'dont'believe'it, The reason they didn't tell everyone else was because they didn't exactly want to have their little 'mission' compromised. If you just moved to a really nice place and found out that the people that want to kill you could be there, you don't really want to move again, right? They'll probably just figure some sort of plan. **

**Me: Dude, it's been more than half a year, chill bro. I honestly don't know how to respond to you but I hope you liked the chapter. Do the music thingy, Kendall.**

**Kendall: Music mentioned was Thrift Shop by Mackelmore, Bleed It Out by Linkin Park, Smells like Team Spirit by Nirvana, Resistance by Muse, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper, Billy Jean by Michael Jackson, Break by Three Days Grace, Secrets by One Republic, So What I Lied by Sick Puppies, So far Gone by Thousand Foot Krutch, and A Whole New World which is owned by Disney and used in the movie, Aladdin. YOU DID GREAT, BRO! THERE'S NO WAY NAT WON'T LOVE YOU!**

**Eric: Calm down, it's just a song. **

**Me: SO FAR GONE IS NOT JUST A SONG! Anyway, do the shipping part.  
**

**Eric: When did it become my job? Nevermind, who would you like to see Nat end up with? Me or Gaara? be sure to review your answer and tell us what you liked about the chapter.  
**

**Me: See ya' next time, guys! **


	10. Friends

**Me: Hello internet! It's the tenth chapter for In Reality and it's almost got 30 reviews! I'm actually really proud of this story and I'm glad that I decided to write it. This is the last chapter for the Introduction Arc. As I like to call it. Anyone notice that this story takes place in December? And it's freakin' July? Weird, huh? Alright, to the disclaimer!**

**Deidara: Nat-chan does not own Naruto or it's characters. Masashi Kishimoto owns us, un.**

**Ino: his story was also co-written by Jazz-chan, also known as My life is a h0t mess. Go to her stories once you're done with Nat's. **

**Me: Enjoy the chapter, guys!**

* * *

After Leah and I tied up Thomas, I went to my room and got my laptop then went online to find some Naruto episodes. Everyone else was watching American Horror Story and no one knew that we were secretly watching them. Right now, we were watching the episode right where the Sand Siblings were introduced. We skimmed a bunch of the episodes, alright?

"Can you guys untie me yet?"

"After this episode. You haven't seen enough yet." I answered and he rolled his eyes. He tried to break free from the duct tape that we used but accidentally pressed a button on the computer. I looked at it then realized he put the video to full volume.

"_My name is Gaara, of the desert. I'm curious about you too, who are you?_" Everyone looked over to us and we stared back at them.

"Hi." I smiled and Leah waved. Gaara raised an invisible eyebrow and walked over to us.

"What are you watching?"

"We're watching you." I replied then turned the laptop around for them to see.

"Wow, I looked like a creep when I was twelve." Gaara commented and I giggled.

"Seeing you in real life doesn't exactly change it much. Oh, I almost forgot to ask, were you training Matsuri at the time you guys left?" Leah asked and his eyes widened.

"Temari, Kankuro, we forgot about Matsuri." He said with a blank face and I scowled.

"She'll be alright. I really don't like fangirls anyway." I really don't. I have my moments but I don't exactly swoon every time I see Gaara. Said boy looked at me then sat down next to me while draping an arm over my shoulder.

"You sure you're just not jealous?"

"Yup, I'm pretty sure. I'd rather just stay like a little troll that lives on the internet." That's pretty much all I do with my life, anyway. "Leah, how long is Winter Break?"

"Two weeks."

"Well that's a rip-off."

"We don't even pay."

"Whatever." We both shook our heads at each other and Thomas looked at us.

"So, yeah, can I be untied now?" He asked and I nodded then took the duct tape off of him.

"Now that you're free, I need to talk to you." Gaara whispered in my ear and I looked at him. He stood up then took my hand and made me follow him. We went upstairs to my room and I heard him lock the door behind him. I turned around and saw that he started to take his shirt off. I gasped then backed into the wall.

"No means no!" I cried out and he raised an invisible eyebrow.

"Whatever you think I'm going to do, I'm not. Trust me." I shakily nodded and he walked over to me. He took my hand and put it on his chest. I could feel his heartbeat. I looked up at him then at my hand. That's when I noticed something. Where my hand was, he had a scar.

"That was from when Lady Chiyo and Naruto revived me. It still hasn't left. Nat-hime, dying was the worst type of pain I could ever experience." He let go of my hand then started to put his shirt back on. "But when I hit you, when you ran out, that was even worse." I looked at him and tried to think of something to say. "Why aren't you mad at me anymore?"

"Well, I know that it was in the heat of passion. I know that you didn't mean it. I'm sorry that I didn't consider your feelings when I was ranting. I was just…sad. When I said that I loved Eric, I meant as a friend." I partially lied. No I didn't, I straight up lied. I flashed him a fake smile. "I guess I just lost it. Sorry if I made you feel like I pitied you. I didn't to make it seem like I feel sorry for you."

"So, you're still going to give me a shot?" He asked with a smile on his face and I ran my fingers through my hair.

"Well, once I'm actually ready to be in a relationship, I can give you a chance." He smiled at me but it was soon wiped off his face. He looked at something, I followed his gaze, it was my shark-tooth necklace. He held it in his hands and looked at me.

"And what about him?" He asked and I sighed.

"If he actually wants to do anything, then I have to give him the same chance. But honestly, I'm starting to doubt that he will. He was never one to make first moves, so I guess you have an advantage." He scowled then looked away. I picked his chin up to look into his eyes, then kissed him on his kanji. "Just be patient, please?" He nodded in response and pulled me into his arms.

"Can I have a kiss?" He asked but was already leaning in closer. I didn't say that he couldn't so I was just going to let it happen. I felt his warm breath on my skin, so I just waited. I heard the door open and we both turned to look. It was Sasuke. He had barely step foot inside before seeing us and covering his eyes. Gaara scowled then looked at him and crossed his arms.

"What is it?"

"Leah-chan sent me to get you guys. I didn't know you guys were…just come downstairs." He closed the door behind him and Gaara groaned. I smiled then gave him a peck on the cheek. He lightened up and we and started to make our way downstairs.

"What the hell?" I muttered as we walked into an amusing sight. Leah was snuggling into Sasuke, Hinata had her head buried in Naruto's chest, Tenten was hiding behind Lee while he was hiding behind Neji, Ino was clutching onto Akamaru for dear life while Kiba was trying to get him back, Choji was munching on some chips and Sakura was asking him for some, Shino was just there, Shikamaru had fallen asleep on Temari and Kankuro was just poking him.

"I repeat, what the hell?" I said and Leah pointed at the TV screen. I looked at it and on screen was a woman in a white gown that had her back curved forwards while floating in the air. "Oh are we watching The Exorcism?" I asked and she nodded.

"The movies you have in your world are very…interesting." Gaara commented and I rolled my eyes.

"You have no idea. You haven't even seen Jackass yet. So, let's take a seat. Did anyone make popcorn?" I joked then turned to see Thomas in a corner with a popcorn maker. I stared at him then blinked. "How?"

"Your parents' room."

"What the hell is in there? I need to start selling that stuff. Pass me some popcorn." He did as asked and we sat down on the floor along with the people who didn't fit on the couch.

"So what has my dying buddy been up to?" I asked while resting my head on his should and he raised an eyebrow.

"Oh right, the van incident. Well, it seems like I'm involved in this whole crazy mess. I'm not exactly doing well in school, my parents are threatening to kick me out, and I found out that my girlfriend cheated on me so this has been a fun week for me." He said sarcastically and I looked at him with sad eyes.

"Aw! Poor Thomas. Do you need a hug?"

"Very much so." He held his arms out and I gave him a warm embrace. I felt a poke to my back so I turned around to see Leah motioning to something. I looked over and saw that Eric and Gaara were glaring at Thomas. I tried to pull away but he didn't want to let go. "I'm not done yet." I rolled my eyes and he finally let go.

"Well that was awkward." I muttered to myself and we just watched the rest of the movie. Leah occasionally kept on poking me just to annoy me and I was messing around with Thomas' hair.

"You seem so depressed right now. You weren't like this before." I said while moving his hair out of his face, which he soon put back.

"Emotions normally come out at night more than during the day. I think I'd rather talk about this when there aren't so many people around." I nodded and checked my phone for the time.

"Wow, it's 1 a.m. We should really be getting to sleep."

"Are you still going to let us sleepover?" Temari asked while trying to get Shikamaru off of her shoulder.

"Well, yeah. You guys live right next door anyway so it won't be trouble. You guys are friends now." I smiled at her and she returned it.

"Then, what are your plans for where we get to sleep?" She asked and I took some time to think about that.

"Since there aren't as many girls as guys, the girls are upstairs while the guys are downstairs. There are three rooms upstairs. Leah, Temari and I can be in my room. Sakura and Ino can be in my brother's old room. Tenten and Hinata can have the guest room. Downstairs, in the living room there's enough room for eight people. In my parents' room, there's enough space for three people and in my old room there's just enough space for one person. You guys get to settle that yourself." I explained and they nodded.

"Alright, let's head upstairs, girls!" Leah said and we led everyone upstairs. Hinata and Tenten went into their room and Sakura and Ino went into theirs. Leah, Temari and I stayed in the kitchen.

"It's was really nice for you to let us sleepover. How long have you two been living together?" Temari asked and we looked at her.

"We don't. Nat's letting me sleepover for her birthday." Leah answered and Temari raised an eyebrow.

"Well, by the friendship you two had, I just assumed. And where are your parents and your brother, Nat?" She asked while I was pouring myself a glass of soda. I have a problem with carbonation, even at night.

"Huh? Oh, they moved away back to Mexico." I said with an accent and they looked at me. What? It's natural to me. "Well my parents did, my brother was finally old enough to move out. My parents decided to go back because they were getting older."

"So you're just living in this house all by yourself?" She asked and I nodded. "How are you able to pay for the bills?"

"My parents came into some money when there was an incident at the doctor's so I'm pretty much set for life. The reason I didn't want to move away was because I needed to continue my education here and because I had friends here." She nodded then looked down.

"You know, I can tell that my brother really likes you." She randomly said and I looked at her.

"Yeah I know. I'm just not really ready to be in a relationship right now." I said solemnly and she smiled at me.

"That's the response I want to hear. I know that you wouldn't hurt him, on purpose anyway. Just think about what he can offer you, alright?" She asked and I nodded. She smirked then turned to Leah.

"I also noticed that you and the Uchiha boy have a thing now. Anything you want to share?" She asked and I looked at Leah. Yeah, I knew she had a crush on Sasuke in the anime but I didn't expect her to make a move so soon. Leah smiled sheepishly then nodded.

"I guess Sasuke-kun and I are more than friends now. I, uh, actually kissed him." She said and I did a spit-take.

"Say what now? You kissed Sasuke Uchiha? Way to score." I raised my hand and she high-fived it while Temari laughed at us.

"I can tell that I'm gonna like you guys a lot! Come on, let's get to bed."

**Eric PoV**

"Hey, Eric, you wanna share the master bedroom with Sasuke?" Thomas asked as he and Sasuke went up to me and I shrugged.

"You two are actually the ones I seem most comfortable sharing a room with. We really should go to bed now." Sasuke said and we followed him to the master bedroom. Once we got inside, I saw someone I really didn't want to see.

"Gaara, are you going to be in the smaller room?" Sasuke asked and he nodded then glared at me.

"I'm still not able to sleep but I don't want to bother anyone."

"I'm pretty sure you won't bother anyone in the living room. Everyone's our friends." Sasuke said and he looked away then crossed his arms.

"Not everyone." He muttered then went off to the smaller room.

"Well someone needs sleep. How come he doesn't? I thought the human body needs sleep." Thomas said and Sasuke sighed.

"Gaara's an insomniac, been one ever since he was born. He just can't sleep, he's not able to. You don't need to worry about it, he'll be fine." He explained and we nodded in response.

"So, now we have to decide who gets to sleep on the floor and on the bed." Thomas said and I was about to say that I could sleep on the floor.

"I'll be on the floor. You two get the bed. Goodnight." Sasuke said then got a blanket and a pillow and lied down on the floor.

"Good for us, huh? Alright, which side do you want, right or left?" Thomas asked and I blushed. I'm not exactly comfortable sleeping in the same bed as another guy but I decided not to say anything.

"Left, I guess." I muttered then got into the bed. Thomas stared at me and I looked up at him. "What is it?"

"It's just weird to me that you don't atleast take your shirt off. I mean sometimes I even go commando when I sleep. Meh, to each his own." He muttered then started to take his shirt and pants off.

"What are you doing?" I asked and he raised an eyebrow.

"I'm getting comfortable. Don't worry, dude. I have boxers on." He acted like it wasn't a big deal, which is really what I should be doing. I shrugged then took my shirt off, revealing the mark on my stomach and the rosary I had on. Thomas looked at the mark and smiled.

"Nice tattoo. I didn't know you'd get one so soon." He commented and I just played along. He got into bed and lied down with his back facing me.

"G'night, Eric."

"Goodnight, Thomas." I replied then closed my eyes, not expecting to go to sleep immediately. After a while, I finally did fall asleep. In my state of mind when I fall asleep, it's usually dreamless. I just don't have dreams, but this time was different.

* * *

At first, all I saw was darkness, then eventually colours started coming in. I saw that the scenery was of a forest, and that I was sitting down. Once I could finally see the whole forest, I was able to see that the outline of people started coming in. At first, I couldn't recognize them, but then the full body came out and I realized who they were. It was everyone that I had just met today. Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Neji, Lee, Tenten, and even Akamaru. The only ones that weren't there were Temari Kankuro and Gaara.

"_Oh, look._" Naruto muttered and he turned around to look at me. No one else did, he was the only one. He held his hand out as if he was reaching for me. I extended my hand out to reach for him but couldn't. Something whizzed by me and I narrowed my eyes to see. It was a girl in black and red riding on top of a horse.

"_Get back here! Don't you run away from me! Marisol! Come back!_" I heard Thomas' voice so I turned around and saw him running. Behind him were Nat and Leah, running at the same pace he was. Thomas and Leah went by me but Nat stopped right next to me. It was Nat but, it didn't exactly look like her. She was a bit older, a blank expression on her face. She looked down at me and offered me her hand. I took it and she helped me up.

"_Come on, we have to catch up to them._" I nodded and we both started running towards Thomas and Leah. We finally caught up to them and all I heard was Thomas yelling at the girl to stop.

"_Marisol! Marisol! Stop! Stop running away from me!_"

* * *

"Hm, Marisol." My eyes opened and I heard Thomas' voice. "Marisol. Marisol." He muttered and I felt something around my waist. I looked down and saw that Thomas was hugging me from behind. I blushed heavily and just stared at the wall in disbelief.

"I don't want to wake him up." I muttered to myself and I felt him hold on tighter. "I think I should. Thomas. Thomas, wake up." I said loud enough for him to hear but it didn't wake him up. I sighed and tried to move his hands off of my waist. He groaned then opened his eyes. Once his brain finally processed what he was doing, his eyes widened and he pulled himself away from me.

"Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Eric, I had no intentions of doing that. I'm sorry, man." He said shakily and I nodded.

"It's alright, Thomas. You were just dreaming, I think."

"Did I say anything in my sleep?"

"You were saying Marisol." I answered and his eyes widened then he covered his mouth with his hand in disbelief.

"I-I was? Crap! I just…I'm sorry about bothering you, Eric."

"Like I said, it's alright. My mom is just going to kill me if she finds out you were spooning me so let's keep this a secret." I said and he nodded then lied back down.

"Uh, listen…feel free to say no to this but, would you be willing to do that again? Because I'm a hugger and so-"

"Go to sleep, guys. I've been listening to your conversation and I'm very glad that I chose the floor. Just go back to sleep. It's four in the morning." Sasuke said and our eyes widened. We did as told then went back to bed. The rest of the night was a bit better, I went back to my dreamless sleep like always.

"Guys, wake up." I heard Sasuke's voice and Thomas groaned. I opened my eyes then sat up. I rubbed the dreariness out of my eyes and looked up at Sasuke. He had on different clothes from yesterday.

"How did you get changed so quickly?" I asked and he looked down at himself.

"Oh, Gaara brought a new set of clothes for all of us. Get up, it's nine in the morning." We nodded then did as told.

"I want pancakes." Thomas muttered then started walking towards the door. I looked at him as I was putting my shirt back on.

"You're not even going to put your pants back on?" I asked and he looked down at himself then shook his head.

"I'll be fine. Come on, let's see if we can make breakfast."

"This isn't even your house and you want to make breakfast?"

"I'm a special little blonde boy, don't judge me." I rolled my eyes but followed him upstairs anyway. We walked in the kitchen to see Nat and Leah but they were in different clothes. Leah was in a tank top and sweat pants while Nat was in a blouse and jeans, like she was ready to go out. They both had their back to us.

"So you're telling me that you still haven't gotten stuff for Christmas and it's in two days? Geez, what have you been doing." Leah muttered and Nat rolled her eyes.

"I've been planning my party, since _someone _decided not to help."

"Hey, I helped you with food."

"Did someone say food?" Thomas said, butting into their conversation and they turned to look at us. Nat had a pan in her hand and Leah had a plate of pancakes. Once they saw Thomas they just stared at him.

"…What?" Leah asked and Nat covered her eyes.

"Jesus Christ, you could've put some pants on. Who the hell didn't stop you from walking around my house in your boxers?"

"Sasuke."

"There's a reason I don't like the Uchiha clan." She muttered to herself then put the pan in the sink. "Just get over here and eat. I have to call everyone to eat."

"I'm not actually hungry." I said and Leah looked at me.

"Aw, come on, Stoner. You never eat at school, you gotta nom on something." I shook my head. "Well alrighty then. Nat, when are you leaving? I need to know so I can get ready."

"Where are you guys going?" Thomas asked and Leah grinned.

"We're gonna go to the grocery store and some other places to get ready for Christmas! Genius over here forgot to buy the supplies." She explained while pointing a finger at Nat who rolled her eyes.

"We're leaving at noon. I need you guys out by then." We nodded and my phone started ringing.

"Hello?"

"_ARE YA' COMING BACK YET?!_" Kendall screamed and I rolled my eyes.

"I said I'd be back by noon. Why are you calling me right now?"

"_I GOT BORED._"

"Why are you yelling?"

"_I DRANK TWO MONSTERS. I REALLY REGRET THAT. CAN YOU BE HOME IN AN HOUR? I'M SO ALONE._"

"Goodbye, Kendall." I hung up and they looked at me.

"Who's Kendall?" Thomas asked and I sighed.

"My younger brother. Remember, he's in the grade below us."

"Oh right, everyone in our class annoys him. They always scream 'Hi, Kendall.' at him." Thomas said and I nodded.

"I'm going outside for some fresh air." I said then went outside to the balcony.

"Well, look who's up." I mentally groaned. I turned around to see Gaara.

"What did you want?" I asked and he just smirked then shrugged.

"Oh, nothing. I assumed you wanted something since you came after me." He said and I rolled my eyes. That's when I noticed what he was wearing. He had on a long-sleeved crimson coat, black pants and sandals. On his chest, it looked like a bulletproof vest. He noticed that I was looking at his clothes so he looked down at himself.

"Haven't you ever seen shinobi clothes?" He asked and I shook my head. He raised an invisible eyebrow at me. "I normally wear this in my village, but now that I feel comfortable around the girls, I can wear this as long as no one else recognizes me."

"Aren't you worried about me?" I asked and he snickered.

"Not really. You don't seem like much of a threat so I can easily handle you." He looked inside through the window to see Nat, Leah and Thomas. "You're other friends, that's a different story. I can sense their chakra signatures, and they're fairly strong. You, I can't sense anything." I had no idea what he was talking about but I still felt a bit excluded from the other three.

"Not much of a threat huh?" I asked and he smirked.

"Like I said, I can easily handle you." He brushed some hair behind his ear. "Especially if you do anything to my Nat-hime, like how you did last night." He said in a low voice and I glared at him.

"I didn't know how she felt, how was I supposed to handle that?" I asked and he glared at me.

"Talk to her. Maybe if you stopped being so quiet, you two might actually be friends. For her sake, I'm not going to treat you as a rival." He held his hand out for me to shake. "I know that she wouldn't like to see us fight." I looked at him and sighed.

"We're not going to be rivals. But we aren't friends, either. I want to change that, do you?" I asked and he narrowed his eyes at me then looked away.

"Why not?" I smiled and extended my hand as well.

"Friends?" I asked and he looked at me, then shook my hand.

"Friends."

* * *

**Me: YAOI! TWINCEST YAOI! I couldn't just not sneak Thomas spooning Eric in there. It absolutely had to happen. Anyone think that dream Eric had meant nothing? You're probably right. Anyway, there wasn't any music mentioned so Kendall doesn't have to-**

**Kendall: HELLO INTERNET!**

**Me: ...Be here. I just...I'm gonna start locking the door. **

**Kendall: Just incase we almost get sued, Nat also doesn't own Monster. BRO, YOU CAN'T JUST BE FRIENDS!**

**Me and Eric: Quit yelling! **

**Me: Both of you, get out. Go away. Shoo. **

**Eric: I thought I stay for the shipping part. **

**Me: Fine, you stay. Kendall, you get out.**

**Kendall: No way! *Locks door from the outside and throws the key out of the window* Do you guys think the friendship will last? Is it even genuine?  
**

**Me: Christ's sake. MercuryMenopause, why that name? Anyway, I'm glad you liked my music selection. read'it'but'dont'believe'it, I have to make the reaction next chapter. Thanks for being such a nice reviewer! i like you, you're one of my favourites. Alright, shipping part.  
**

**Eric: Since Gaara and I have now agreed to be friends, do you think that'll stop us from having Nat? Who do you guys want to see end up with her? Be sure to review your answer and what you liked about the chapter.  
**

**Me: Bye, guys! Thanks for reading!**


	11. Under the Misteltoe

**Me: Hey guys! We hit over thirty reviews because of the last chapter and I'm very happy about that. Listen, I know it's July but the story does take place in late December so bear with me. Also, I don't mean to offend you if you don't celebrate Christmas, really, I'm sorry.**

**Deidara: Nat-chan owns no characters from Naruto, un. Masashi Kishimoto-sama does.  
**

**Ino: This story was also co-written by Jazz-chan, also known as My life is a h0t mess. **

**Me: Be sure to go read her stories once you're done with mine, She's really good. Alright, enjoy the chapter while I figure out how Ino and Deidara got in when Kendall locked me in!**

* * *

**Nat PoV**

"Hey, guys. Get inside, it's gonna get cold soon." I warned the two boys outside and they both did as told.

"Gaara, could you ask your friends to come to the dining room to eat?" I asked the crimson-haired boy and he nodded then left.

"So, once we're back from grocery shopping, I'm gonna head back home so I can get ready for Christmas with my family." Leah said and I nodded.

"Why am I even decorating? It's not like I'm going to have anyone over." I muttered to myself and Thomas looked over at me.

"You're not?"

"Nope. My brother's doing his own stuff. My parents are in Mexico. My friends are doing stuff with their own families and the rest of my family are either in California, Texas, or New York."

"Well you still shouldn't be alone on Christmas day." Eric said and I sighed.

"You think I want to be alone? Unless someone makes plans with me, I'll be in my living room watching Tim Burton movies."

"Why can't you ask to make plans with someone else?"

"I'd love to do that but I feel like I'd be bothering them, do you see my problem here?" I asked then shook my head. "I'll just explain Christmas the neighbours and celebrate with them. Where the hell is everyone so they can eat?" I went outside of the kitchen to call everyone to eat but instead I already found them at the dining table.

"Wow, you guys really are ninjas." I said in amazement and they smiled at me. "Alright, I'll bring out the food." I went back to the kitchen and had Leah help me out with the food. Once we set it out for everyone, we all sat down to eat. By all of us, I also meant Eric and Thomas.

"Kiba, can Akamaru eat this stuff?" I asked the dog boy who gave me a look in return.

"Why wouldn't he?"

"Well, I don't know. Sometimes dogs aren't supposed to eat certain things."

"Hey remember when Libby ate a whole bag of Doritos?" Leah asked me and I smiled.

"Who's Libby?" Kiba asked.

"She's my dog. She's old though. I bet Libby and Akamaru can be best friends." He smiled at her and gave Akamaru some of his food.

"Wow, everything looks great." Tenten said and I smiled.

"Thanks, Leah and I worked hard on it." Actually we've been up since six in the morning to make everything because my ginger friend wanted to watch morning cartoons first. It was just like the ordinary breakfast you would find at a buffet. The Naruto gang all muttered an 'Itadakimasu' and we all started eating.

"So, do you guys have any plans for the day?" Temari asked and Leah and I nodded.

"We're gonna go out shopping at noon for Christmas supplies."

"Christmas? I've kept on hearing about it since we came but we still don't know what it is."

"Don't worry, we'll explain it later. Or I will. A certain someone doesn't really have any views on religion."

"Hey that's not my fault." Leah said and I rolled my eyes but smiled.

"What about you guys? Do you have any plans?" I asked and she nodded.

"We have to get home and keep unpacking. We also need to start looking for jobs, we've been so used to the missions back home that we kind of miss them." She said and Thomas looked at her.

"You guys aren't going to the high school with us?" He asked and Temari shook her head then raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't you guys a little too old to still be going to the academy? I mean, we've been promoted chuunin ate your age." She asked as everyone was finishing up.

"In your home. Here, we just reached the age to apply for a job. Remember, our place is different. We don't graduate from school until we're eighteen or nineteen. From there on, it's our choice if we want to go further with our education or not. Here, the school doesn't teach us to be shinobi, but life-long skills."

"Since when is finding the slope of a hill a life-long skill?" Leah asked and I shrugged.

"You are going to explain everything to us, right?" Neji asked and we both nodded. Once we wrapped all of that up, Leah helped me clean the dishes. She went back to my room to get ready for us to go out. I was downstairs in the living room with the Sand Siblings waiting for her.

"So, what is Christmas? Is it a festival?" Kankuro asked and I smiled.

"Not exactly. It's a holiday. A festive one for spending time with family and friends that's celebrated all over the world. Once I get back from shopping, I'll be able to explain it to you guys. Right now, I'm just waiting for Leah." I leaned against him and he smiled.

"What are you guys going to buy?"

"Food and decorations. Christmas is in two days and if I don't go today, I'm screwed. All the stores will be closed."

"Can we go with you?" Temari asked and the other two nodded.

"Do you think anyone will recognize you?"

"We can always use a transformation jutsu just in case." Gaara said and I sighed.

"Do you really want to go with us?" I asked and they nodded. "Well alrighty then. Hey, I've been meaning to ask. Where are your tools? Like, Temari's fan, Kankuro's puppets, and Gaara's gourd." I asked and they looked at each other.

"Did we even bring them?" Kankuro asked and Temari bonked him over the head.

"Of course we did! They're at the mansion. Are we supposed to bring them? You know, just in case?" She asked and I shook my head.

"Weapons aren't exactly allowed inside public places. That and people would just think you guys were creepsters."

"GUYS IT'S SNOWING OUTSIDE!" I heard Leah yell from upstairs and I looked outside of the window.

"Hey, it is." I said then opened the door to go outside, the Sand Siblings followed.

"What is this stuff?" Kankuro asked while placing his hand out to catch some of the snowflakes. I had forgotten that they were from the desert, I doubt they had any missions involving the land of snow.

"It's pretty much crystallized water. Snow." I explained and they all looked up at the sky. Temari shivered then started rubbing her shoulders to keep herself warm.

"It's pretty cold out. And this is completely normal?" She asked and I nodded. Gaara held his hand out like Kankuro to catch a snowflake. He caught one but it started to melt in his hand.

"It's pretty." He commented and I smiled.

"My parents told me that when I was born, it started snowing. They were actually considering naming me Nieve, which means snow in Spanish. But they decided to name me Natasha, meaning born on Christmas. My mom always wanted a Christmas baby but was still happy when she had me on the Winter Solstice instead." He nodded then looked down.

"Do you know what my name means?" He asked and I looked at him, but nodded. He looked at me with sad eyes.

"Self loving demon. But I still like your name. The meaning shouldn't define who you are, your actions should." I shrugged and he perked up. We were about to head back inside when I was hit with snow.

"Bull's-eye!" I heard Thomas shout as he was laughing at me. I kept a blank face as I felt the snow melt on my face.

"…Oh this means war." I muttered then bent down and got a fistful of snow and threw it at him. He stopped laughing then dodged it just in time.

"Ha! Ya' missed!"

"I wasn't aiming for you!" I yelled back and he turned around to look at where I shot. I shot at a brunch that already had a pile of snow on it. His eyes widened as the snow came down and covered him like a blanket.

"You win this round!" He yelled and I snickered to myself.

"And that is how you start a snowball fight." I said to the Sand Siblings and Kankuro smiled.

"That looks awesome!" He bent down and got a fistful of snow as well, then looked around for someone to hit. He spotted someone and I followed his gaze. It was a certain blonde boy talking to a certain bluenette on the balcony. "Hey, Naruto!" Kankuro yelled then threw it at him.

"What the crap-oof!" Naruto yelled and got a face full of snow.

"Well that was fun. So, should we be heading out to the store you were talking about?" The brown haired boy asked and I nodded, then we headed back inside.

"You guys should wear some jackets so you don't get cold or anything." I said and they nodded.

"We'll be right back." Temari said and they left in a flash. I heard footsteps coming downstairs so I turned to look. It was Eric.

"Hey, Nat. Do you know where Thomas is? It's time for us to get home."

"You're going home together?"

"Well, we live a couple houses away from each other so we might as well. So, do you know where he is?" I nodded and pointed outside.

"He's being a little kid and playing in the snow." I answered and he sighed.

"I'll just wait for him to get back inside. If he doesn't get in soon then he'll get a cold." He zipped up his grey sweater then put his hoodie up. "Nat,"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for letting me sleep over. And for inviting me to your party, I actually thought you weren't." He said with a shy smile and I flashed him a fake smile in return. I didn't have the heart to tell him that I accidentally put the invitation in his locker, so I just let him have it.

"I, uh…wasn't sure that you weren't gonna come so I hesitated a bit." _Actually, now that I think about it, if it weren't for the invitation incident then he wouldn't have met the Naruto gang._ My eyes widened and I looked at Eric.

"I'm sorry." I said softly and he tilted his head in confusion.

"For what?"

"Everything. I know that you didn't have to get involved in this mess with Leah and me." I replied and he sighed.

"Oh, that. Listen, even if it seems crazy and weird to me, you don't need to apologize. It wasn't your fault." He answered then went up to me and put his arms around me in an embrace. I stared ahead in shock.

"But, your mark." I said and he looked at me.

"I can hide it. For you, I won't say anything. I just want you to promise me one thing." He said the pulled away for me to look at him. I looked into his eyes then nodded.

"As long as you don't tell anyone about them, I can keep your promise." I said and he sighed.

"Promise me that you'll be safe. I don't want to hear that you got into any trouble because of them. You're my friend, and I care about you. So I need you to be safe," He leaned in closer to me. "Especially around Gaara. Can you promise me that?" He asked and I hesitated but nodded. I could tell that he was really worried.

"I promise, Eric. I'll be safe." I said and he smiled then kissed my cheek. I opened my mouth to say something but he was already heading for the door.

"I'll talk to you later, Nat. Merry Christmas." He said soft enough for me to hear then left.

"…Well that was weird."

"What was?" I meeped as I heard someone else's voice then turned around to find Leah. "You ready to go?" She asked and I nodded.

"I was the one waiting for you." I said and she smiled sheepishly and I noted three people behind her.

"By the way, I kinda invited Team Seven to come along."

"And I invited the Sand Siblings. We're even. We just have to wait for them to come back." Speak of the trio and they shall appear. The Sand Siblings walked in the door with their jackets on. Well, Temari was wearing a cloak that resembled her black kimono. Kankuro was wearing a leather jacket and a hat that resembled the one he had in the anime. Gaara was pretty much wearing the same thing except his robe had a hoodie that he put on.

"You guys are coming too? Great! It'll be fun to see how the world works here!" Naruto said in excitement and I looked at what his team was wearing. He had on an orange and black jacket and a winter cap on. Sakura had the same type of cap but it was more of a light pink colour, matching her knitted sweater and gloves. Sasuke had on a dark blue jacket with the hood but he didn't put it up.

"Are we all going to fit in one car?" I asked and Leah shrugged. I sighed in return then looked at them. "I guess Leah can take you guys in the other car I have. Come on, let's go before the streets get crowded." We all headed outside and Leah looked around.

"So I guess everyone else went home? Even the two blonde boys?" She asked and I nodded. Leah and her group headed inside the car they were taking and the rest of us headed into our own. Temari sat in the front seat next to me as Gaara and Kankuro sat in the back.

"Wow, this is a weird way to use transportation. Couldn't you just run to the store?" Kankuro asked and I shook my head.

"We don't have as much chakra and stamina as you guys. We'd be so exhausted even if we tried."

"Yeah but then again, we don't know if you have chakra. Who knows, you might have as much as we do." Temari joked and I chuckled.

"They do." Gaara said and we looked at him. "Even without Shukaku, I'm able to sense that you, Leah, and Thomas have enough chakra to become ninjas. Maybe one day, we could train you." He said and I took some time to think.

"Maybe. I feel special now to know that I have chakra. I don't think that I would like to be a ninja though, just learn some skills." I said and they nodded. I didn't like driving in silence so I put on the radio. The song on was Savior by Rise Against and I started singing along.

"It kills me not to know this but I've all but just forgotten, what the color of her eyes were and her scars or how she got them. As the telling signs of age rain down a single tear is dropping, through the valleys of an aging face that this world has forgotten." I sang softly and Temari looked at me.

"You know, we didn't hear you sing last night. Why not?" She asked and I shrugged.

"I don't particularly like singing in front of other people."

"Well you have a nice voice." Kankuro said and I smiled.

"Thanks. I'm in the school choir. Leah's in band. That reminds me, are you guys going to attend the school with us?" I asked and Temari shook her head.

"Kankuro and I are too old to attend the academy. Gaara, would you like to go? You're the same age as Nat and her friends. It's your choice." She looked back at the crimson haired boy as I kept my eyes on the road.

"I don't see why not. It'd be nice learning about different things besides being prepped to become soldiers. When should we apply?" Gaara asked and I sighed.

"Let's see…before the New Year. I think we can send application online, so we can do it tomorrow. Alright, guys. First we'll be going to get decorations. Would you guys like to celebrate Christmas with me?" I asked and I could feel them looking at me.

"Aren't you going to celebrate with your family?" Gaara asked and I shook my head.

"I'm sort of alone this year. Even Leah has her own plans. I didn't want to be alone on the holiday so I wanted to know if you guys would like to celebrate it with me." I said and Temari smiled at me.

"Of course we will! We can't just leave you all alone. Right, boys?" She asked her brothers and they nodded. Well I assumed they did, I couldn't exactly see them. We finally made it to the mall and Leah came right after us.

"And, this is one giant store?" Gaara asked me and I shook my head.

"It's a building that holds a bunch of stores inside of it. Here you can buy clothes, tools and food. First, we're going to buy Christmas decorations." I said then led the gang to one of the stores.

"So Christmas colours are green, white and red?" Sasuke asked and Leah nodded.

"Wow, everything does look very festive. But, why is there a large man wearing a red suit?" Sakura asked while pointing at the store Santa and I laughed.

"That's Santa Claus. He's pretty much what everyone thinks about when talking about Christmas. You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout I'm telling you why." I started explaining to them in one of the Christmas carols and they looked at me. Leah facepalmed but smiled.

"A nice way to explain, I admit." He commented and I smiled.

"Santa Claus is back in town. He makes a list and he checks it twice to find out who's naughty or nice. Christmas time is back around. He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good so be good for goodness sake. Yes he's out and about so you better not fret, don't scream or shout 'cause you don't owe him a cent. Santa's back in town and Christmas is finally around." I finished and they gave me a look.

"Santa comes around this time of the year to give presents to all of the little boys and girls that were nice. And for all the naughty kids, they get coal. He delivers the presents by using his nine flying reindeer. Now Dasher, now Dancer, now Prancer and Vixen. On Comet, on Cupid, on Donner and Blitzen. Oh, and Rudolf the red-nose reindeer. He climbs down the chimneys and sets the presents under the Christmas tree. He does it in one night!" Leah helped explain and Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"So you're pretty much explaining to us that a man in a red suit breaks into houses with children in them to deliver some presents? And he uses flying animals? That doesn't seem odd to you guys?" He asked and we nodded.

"Only little kids believe in Santa. He's just a fictional character to help spread holiday cheer." I said and Leah scoffed.

"More like a representative to get parents to buy their kids some toys." She said bitterly and I rolled my eyes.

"He helps bring Christmas joy. Made by capitalists or the wishes of children, he does some good. Alright, let's get the decorations!" I said cheerfully as we started packing the cart with Christmas stuff.

"It's a good thing my parent's sent me Christmas money." I muttered to myself as we finally paid for everything.

"Alright, let's head to the grocery store." Leah said then guided us to said store. Along with all the stuff for a traditional meal for Christmas, I sneaked in one of everyone's favourite food for the Naruto gang.

"God, I need chocolate." I muttered but didn't have enough money to get it. Gaara looked at me then paid it himself.

"Here, you said you wanted it." I perked up as he handed me the candy bar then smiled at him.

"Thanks, Gaara!" I said and he nodded. He noticed something above us and followed his gaze.

"What is that little plant doing up there?" He asked and I finally noticed that we were in the doorway of the building. I narrowed my eyes and blushed.

"It's a m-mistletoe." I stuttered and he raised an invisible eyebrow at me.

"And? What does it do?" He asked and I blushed harder.

"It's a tradition to put them up so two people could get caught underneath them. The two people who are underneath them…kiss." I said softly and he looked at me.

"Well, it is a tradition." He said and I smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah, I guess so."

I turned to him and he leaned in closer to me. I did as well and I could feel his warm breath against my skin. I smiled then pressed my lips against his, standing on my tippy-toes a bit because he was a bit taller than me. It was a soft kiss, but it was long too. He held me in place by holding my hands and I pulled back a bit.

"What?" He asked and I smiled then giggled.

"That was my first real kiss."

* * *

**Me: Mid-way through the chapter Ino and Deidara left me with the other two blondes. *Sniffle* I'm so alone. Anyway, again, I don't mean to just pay attention to one religion. Happy Holidays, even if it counts after being extremely late. It's weird to explain Santa through song, isn't it? And what about that kiss? I mean, yeah I haven't had my first kiss either but thanks to fanfiction I know how to be a freak. Heh, read your books, kids. **

**Kendall: Music mentioned was Savior by Rise Against. So, you haven't had your first kiss yet. *Winks*  
**

**Eric: Don't even think about it. Since the last chapter, why do you think I would want to warn Nat about Gaara since we're friends now?  
**

**Me: Jealousy.**

**Eric: What was that?**

**Me: Nothin'. Alright, rainbowpanther9, I like you. You are now one of my new favourites.  
PlutoPenetration, ah, que bien que alguien tambien habla espanol. Me gusto que dijiste, gracias! read'it'but'dont'believe'it, Nat really does need to figure everything out. I'm glad you think this story is nice! Blue note blue, I don't think that's written down anywhere but I like it! Wooimmafoz1305, YOU DIRTY LITTLE PERVERT I LOVE YOU! I like you, let's be friends one day.  
**

**Kendall: So the poll is now unbalanced. It's 5 for Gaara and 3 for Eric. COME ON, BRO! DID YOU READ THAT LAST PART?! HE'S AHEAD OF YOU!**

**Eric: WILL YOU QUIT RANTING AT ME?! I CAN READ, YA' KNOW!**

**Kendall: Be sure to review who you want to see Nat end up with and what you liked about the chapter while my brother and I continue yelling at each other! YOU NEED TO TRY HARDER!**

**Eric: IT'S NOT MY FAULT! I'M NOT THE WRITER!**

**Me: Bye guys! Oh, and from now on I'll be doing my favourite quote from the chapter at the end. Quote of the chapter, **

**_Self loving demon. But I still like your name. The meaning shouldn't define who you are, your actions should. ~Nat_**


	12. Joy and Love

**Me: Hello internet! Let me just say that I was really disappointed about the fact that I needed to do research on Christmas so that I could make Nat explain. Aren't I wonderful? So Ino and Deidara aren't here which means that it's my job to do the disclaimer!**

**Kendall: Hey howdy ho, internet.**

**Eric: Hello, internet.**

**Me: Damn it. **

**Kendall: Nat owns no Naruto characters, only Kishimoto does.**

**Eric: The story was also co-written by Jazz, also known as My life is a h0t mess.**

**Me: Damn it. Anyway, let me warn you guys right now, this story isn't particularly meant to be all rainbows and sunshine. It has more of a dark element to it. Sorry for misleading. Also, I got the elf line from the lovely Wooimmafox1305. Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"Really?" Gaara asked in surprise and I nodded. "Well, it was mine too." He blushed a bit and I smiled at him.

"It doesn't exactly seem like it. Come on, let's catch up to everyone else." I held his hand as I tugged him to where everyone else was.

"Where are we going now?" Sasuke asked and we pointed at one of the stores that sold groceries.

"Well, it's good that this will be all we need. The rest of us already bought our clothes here when we were trying to figure out how start our lives here." Temari said and Leah and I looked at her.

"Did you guys have anyone help you?"

"Pfft, no. We just walked inside and paid for our stuff." She snickered and I rolled my eyes but smiled. We stepped inside the store and I sent everyone else, besides Leah, to get the things needed for a regular Christmas dinner. The reason I didn't send Leah was because I needed to talk to her.

"Hey, why don't we get the ingredients to make everyone a plate of their favourite food, it'd be pretty cool." I said and she took some time to think about it.

"Isn't Gaara's favorite food tongue and gizzard? Are you willing to make that?" She asked and I laughed at her.

"That's a traditional dish in my culture! I'm pretty sure I can handle that."

"Well then I say it's a good idea. I'll get a separate cart so they can have it as a surprise." Leah said then went off to do as said.

Once the Naruto gang bought the Christmas foods, Leah and I were trying to buy their favourite foods discreetly. The reason I say trying is because Naruto kept on wanting to know what we were up to. After we got all of the food, we waited at the checkout line when Kankuro spoke up.

"Gaara, did you want me to tell you everything that kid is up to?" He asked and the red-head looked at him then shook his head.

"If it doesn't involve him telling anyone about where we are, I don't need to hear it."

"Well, what if he's in some serious trouble. I mean, if he dies then I'd get seriously hurt." Kankuro said and my eyes widened.

"Why? Is Eric in trouble, Kankuro?" I asked and he looked at me, then gave me a reassuring smile.

"Not at the moment. I was just curious. He is your friend, do you want me to warn you if he does get into trouble?" He asked and I was about to open my mouth to say yes but was interrupted.

"Ma'am. You're holding up the line." The check out clerk said to me as everyone else had gotten out of line.

"Oh, sorry." I apologized then left with them. We packed up the stuff we bought in both cars then started to make our way back home. I put on the radio station again and one of the Christmas carols was on. Temari looked at the radio then at me.

"So, who celebrates Christmas? Is it something everyone celebrates?" She asked and I shook my head.

"No, not everyone. Usually certain religions celebrate it. There are other holidays celebrated around this time as well, but a lot of people celebrate this one." I explained and she nodded.

"And the whole thing about Santa giving presents to little kids, is it just the kids that get gifts?" Kankuro asked and I shook my head.

"It's a time for everyone to give, it doesn't matter what age you are. People even give gifts to the dead, if they want to." I explained and I assumed they nodded, not asking anymore questions. We finally pulled into the driveway and the ninjas helped put the stuff inside.

"Alright, guy. I need to start heading back home. Leah said after bringing the last bag and Sasuke looked at her.

"I'll walk you home. It must be pretty cold out right now." She smiled then nodded.

"Merry Christmas, guys." She waved goodbye as she and Sasuke left. Naruto had on a blank face then smiled brightly.

"Looks like Sasuke has a girlfriend now!" He chuckled and Sakura glared at him.

"What are you talking about, Naruto? Sasuke-kun doesn't have any love interests." She argued and rubbed my neck sheepishly. I knew how Sakura gets around her 'Sasuke-kun' so finding out that he and Leah are now a thing isn't going to make her happy.

"Well it kinda does look like it." I said and she turned to glare at me. I chuckled then hid behind Naruto.

"See! Even Nat-chan thinks so!"

"No I don't. What are you talking about?" I said softly and he smiled then pulled me from behind him.

"Well I don't see anyone who would be fit for my Sasuke-kun! What girl are you guys talking about?!" She yelled at us and we shuddered then held onto each other. He's even scarier in real life.

"Naruto, don't say anything or else we get pounded to a pulp." I said and he nodded. Sakura raised her fist at us.

"If you don't tell me anything, _then _you'll get pounded to a pulp!" She yelled and I looked over to the sand Siblings who just stood there watching in amusement. Naruto leaned into my ear and whispered to me.

"On three, we run as fast as we can. Eventually she'll give up." He said and I nodded.

"One…two…three!" he exclaimed and we bolted for the door, only to have it open and smack us in the face.

"Oh, sorry guys." Sasuke apologized as Naruto and I fell to the ground. We both muttered an 'Itai' as we looked up to see an angry pinkette.

"Hey there." I muttered and she glared at me.

"Only because he's here will I not hurt you." She whispered to me then smiled. "Besides, you still need to teach us all about Christmas!" She said in excitement and I sweatdropped. _Bi-polar much?_ I thought to myself then got up along with Naruto.

"Well, I should explain it to everyone else as well. So, can we head over to the mansion?" I asked and they nodded. We made it inside and I noticed that the only thing different was that they added a bit of Japanese culture to the house.

"This place hasn't changed at all." I muttered and Gaara looked at me.

"You've been in here before?" He asked and I smiled then nodded.

"The people who lived here before were our family friends. Actually, the house wasn't even a mansion before then. They renovated it and would invite me to hang out pretty much everyday. They moved to Texas some time ago. But, now I'm friends with the new neighbours." I smiled brightly and he nodded.

"So, are we supposed to put up those mistletoe plants like from the store? Because, I wouldn't mind getting caught underneath one again." He said in a smooth voice and a playful smirk that made me blush.

"I, uh…don't think we b-bought any." I stuttered out and he chuckled.

"I'm joking. Well, not really. I'm not going to do anything until you finally are comfortable to be with me." Gaara said then leaned in closer to me. "Just don't take too long." He snickered then walked away, leaving me all flustered.

"…God I love that boy." I said to myself then went into the living room where everyone else was.

"Gather 'round, children. Gather 'round." I said to everyone and they had their attention to me. "It's time for a story to tell, although it wasn't thought out very well. Once a year comes around this time of good ol' Noel. When everyone's happy, friendly, and just plain swell."

"Will you just get on with it?" Neji asked and I smiled.

"So, Christmas is celebrated on December 25th every year for the son of God, Jesus Christ, hence the name Christmas. It's a time for family and friends to celebrate, gift giving, and eating. The big thing the holiday is known for is Santa Claus. The jolly old man who was Saint Nicholas that deeply cared for children and gave the good ones gifts."

"And he breaks into their houses, leaves them gifts, then goes back to his flying animals, correct?" Sasuke asked and I rolled my eyes.

"Not exactly. Santa works during the whole year so that he can make kids presents in his workshop. And he doesn't do it alone. In his workshop, he has millions of little elves that are usually hiding in their hidey-holes. They help him make these presents and help him pack them all in one giant sack to put on his sleigh that's run by nine reindeer. With the magic bells on their collars, they fly all over the world in one night to deliver these presents." Explained and they all looked at me, then blinked.

"And what about decorations?" Tenten asked and I looked at her then smiled.

"Well, there's a cut down fir tree that you decorate and put in the house so that Santa can set the presents underneath it. There are also bells, candy canes, stockings and angels that you set up around the house for spirit. And also plants. Like poinsettias and-"

"Mistletoes." Gaara finished for me and I smiled.

"But I'm horrible at explaining things. I'm pretty sure a bunch of Christmas specials are on right now so maybe they can explain it better." I said and they nodded. We all went into the TV room and just watched Christmas specials.

"Nat, would you like to stay over for the night?" Temari asked and I looked at her. "We don't want you to be alone around this time, so maybe you should stay for a couple of days. We can help with the decorations and food. Hell, we can even have the celebration here. Would you like that?" She asked and I smiled then nodded.

"Thanks, Temari. It means a lot that you guys would celebrate with me." I responded and she gave me a warm smile, then nodded.

"So does everyone do the same thing for Christmas?" Kankuro asked and I shrugged.

"Normally families have their own little traditions. My family and I eat rice pudding and eat goat, for example." I said and he nodded. I sighed then looked up at the ceiling. I couldn't exactly have a festive time knowing that I dragged one of my friends into the whole mess of this, even though he said it'd be fine.

_I wonder how Eric's doing right now._

**Eric PoV**

"BIGGER BROTHER, YOU'RE HOME!"

"Oh gosh." I muttered to myself as I was tackled to the floor. I groaned as Kendall snuggled himself into my chest. My brother is a strange kid, I don't want to question it. He's like a happy puppy.

"I've missed you so much! I'm so glad you're back!"

"I've only been gone for a day. Get off of me." I said and he smiled then did as told. I brushed myself off and felt something around my leg. I looked down and saw the small cat that we had. I bent down to scratch her behind her ear.

"See! Even Luna missed you." He said in excitement and I rolled my eyes but smiled at him.

"So where are mom and dad?" I asked then heard a voice behind me

"Oh, they'll be home soon. The question I want to know is where've you been, Eric? Kendall's been missing his big brother for a long time." It was a girl's voice. I sighed then turned around to see her.

"I was at a friend's house. I see you finally got home from London, Courtney." I muttered and she smirked. Courtney is my older sister. She's twenty years old, is an inch taller than me, she has sandy blonde hair and green eyes, unlike mine and Kendall's blue eyes.

"Mom and dad wanted me to come home for Christmas. Wanting to celebrate as a family or something. So, how've my baby brothers been doing since I left? I haven't seen you guys in a month or so." She had gone away to England for a chance to get into a university there. Kendall pouted when she said 'baby' then crossed his arms.

"You're only a couple of years older than us, we're not little kids anymore, Courtney!" He exclaimed and she smirked at him.

"To me you are. Come on, tell me what my baby brothers have been up to." She led us to the living room and made us sit down on the couch.

"I've got a girlfriend, now." Kendall said bluntly and I facepalmed. Courtney smiled at him.

"Aw, what's her name? Is she nice?"

"Do you care?" I asked and she narrowed her eyes at me, then flashed me a fake smile.

"Oh not at all! I just can't have you two going to mom and dad telling them that I'm not caring or something. Although, I do care about your love life, Eric. You find a nice girl yet? One that can look past you being a little loner, not really saying anything, not doing anything at school, just that one kid in class who's like wallpaper-"

"Will you stop criticizing me? I get it." I muttered and she chuckled. My sister and I don't exactly have the best relationship. Honestly she doesn't seem to care for me or Kendall, but since we are family by blood, we have to love each other. Although sometimes she can push it.

"What's her name?"

"What?"

"Your little girlfriend. What's her name?" She asked and I blushed then looked away.

"I don't have one. No one's interested in me." I lied. Nat's interested in me but I think I just blew my chance.

"What about Nat?" Kendall butted into the conversation and I looked at him with wide eyes. Courtney raised an eyebrow at me then looked at Kendall. "What? I hear that she's really into you." I buried my face in my hands and Courtney laughed at me.

"What's wrong, Eric? Why didn't you want me to know about her?"

"Well he slept over at her house last night." Kendall said and I glared at him.

"Don't have a girlfriend, huh? Now, why'd ya' lie to me? I feel hurt." Courtney faked a sniffled then put her arm around me.

"I'm your big sister, you two can tell me anything. You know that right?" She asked and I looked into her eyes. I could tell that she wasn't lying, so I nodded in response to her question. "Good, now tell me all about your little girlfriend."

"Well she's a bit weird, she's pretty nice, not annoying, pretty, smart-"

"Kendall she was asking me."

"Well I helped." I sighed then shook my head. Courtney looked at me to go on from there.

"Her name is Natasha Cortez. And she's not my girlfriend. We're just friends."

"You little liar." She said and I looked at her. "Something's going on. Or else she wouldn't let you sleep over at her house…Oh you sly dog." She chuckled and I looked at her in confusion. She eventually started laughing at me and I was just so confused.

"I didn't think you would've already lost your innocence! So tell me, how was it?" I blushed heavily then looked at the ground.

"We didn't do anything."

"Come on, tell me how it was! Was it good? Did she make you feel like the greatest thing in the world?"

"Courtney, I really don't think you should be asking these questions."

"What did she feel like? A boy your age must've done a lot of exploring."

"Please stop it."

"Did she have the lights off? I'm not saying you're not good-looking, but let's be real."

"Knock it off!" I exclaimed and she smirked at me, cocking an eyebrow.

"Did she tell you that she loved you?"

"JUST SHUT UP!" I screamed at her, and she blinked. My eyes widened, I never yelled at anyone like that. Kendall looked in between us with a scared look on his face. Courtney smirked at me then stood up.

"Now, Eric. You know better than to raise your voice at your older sister. It's not polite." She taunted and I glared at her.

"Well neither is asking all of these personal questions." Kendall spoke up and we looked at him. Courtney smirked at him then picked him up and pushed him into my arms.

"Both of you need to learn a lesson. Good thing I'm back to straighten you guys up. Now, if you two want to act like kids, then I'm going to treat you like kids. Go upstairs, into your rooms. You're both on timeout." She commanded and I glared at her.

"You can't just treat us like a bunch of kids, you have no right to tell us what to do." I said bitterly and she grinned like the Cheshire cat.

"Ah, hitting your rebellion phase already. Well that's good, it means that I can do this when you get out of line." She started then raised her hand at me. My eyes widened as she brought it down to me.

_**SLAP!**_

"Eric!" Kendall cried out as I winced in pain. Courtney struck me with enough force to send me down to the ground. I rubbed my cheek then felt it sting horribly. Kendall kneeled down to help me up but Courtney picked him up then gave him a back-hand slap. She hit him as hard as she did to me so he fell down into my arms.

"Now, be good boys and do what your big sister told you to do." She said bitterly and I glared at her. "Aw, you have such a determined face on right now. Too bad that it's in vain." She teased then chuckled.

I picked up Kendall and helped him up the stairs into my room. I sat down on the side of my bed with Kendall lying on my lap. He snuggled himself into me, sobbing his little heart out. I rubbed the back of his head soothingly to get him to stop, but seeing my baby brother cry, made tears form in my eyes as well. I wiped them away with the sleeve of my shirt then sighed.

"It's alright, Kendall. You're safe now." I reassured him and he looked up at me with red eyes, then shook his head.

"It's not, Eric. Why does she do that? She's so mean but also loving at the same time, it's not fair!" He cried out and I covered his mouth.

"Shh. We can't be too loud." I shushed him in a low whisper and he nodded. I sighed then ran my fingers through my hair. "Don't worry. I know it's not fair, but you know we can't do anything about it." He sniffled then buried his head into my chest. Kendall might just be a year younger than me but he looked much younger, so I treat him as my kid brother.

"The worst part is that it's two days to Christmas, which means a loving family gathering, right?" He asked and I nodded. "Why can't we have that? Mom and dad are away most of the time, and they won't be back until _after _New Years. Why do we have to be stuck with her?" Kendall asked in a muffled voice, and I shrugged.

"I can't answer you right now, Kendall. I'm sorry.' I apologized out of instinct and he sat up then rubbed the tears out of his eyes.

"It's not fair." He muttered, and I looked at him then gave him a soft smile.

"Hey," I said and he looked over at me. "I know it's early, but I have your present. Just close your eyes." I said and he smiled shyly then did as told. I went into my closet and got his present, then set it into his hands.

"It feels…weird." He commented and I smiled.

"Alright, open your eyes." I said and he did as told.

"Y-Your guitar?" He stuttered out and I shook my head.

"Your guitar." I corrected and he smiled brightly.

"Are you sure? You've had this bass ever since you started playing." He asked and I nodded in response.

"Of course I'm sure. You've wanted one, haven't you? Dad originally bought this for me, but now it's yours." He looked down at it, then up at me. He set it down on the bed then hugged me. I chuckled then hugged him back.

"I love you, Eric." He said softly and I smiled then kissed the top of his head.

"I love you too, Kendall. Merry Christmas."

* * *

**Me: I'm just putting this out there, any yaoi artists that would like to draw some almost twincest, send me the link. I'm not forcing you, I'm just saying if you do happen to do it, let me know. Alright, yep, this story took a turn for the worst. It was originally going to be an Eric chapter but I didn't have enough for it to be one whole chapter so I had to add Nat as well. You have to feel a bit bad for the two boys since it is their sister and it is Christmas.  
**

**Kendall: I'M SO GLAD THAT I HAVE YOU, BRO! *Snuggles*  
**

**Eric: Get off of me.**

**Me: So, hopefully you guys do know when abuse goes on. Tell someone I had to end the chapter on a somewhat light note. Trust me, having Courtney do this isn't unnecessary for the story. It'll be a while, but it will play a major-ish part. What a bad sister. Asking all those personal questions if her brother did the dirt. Unfortunately, depressing stuff gets a lot of attention, and I'm usually just a sad person. Anyway, feedback time. **

**Kendall: Asteroid Anus-wait wut? **

**Me I have a feeling the person coming up with these dirty astronomy names is the same person...**

**Kendall: We're glad that you liked the mistletoe part. read'it'but'dont'believe't, ha. See, Eric? I have a fan. Anyway, I'm a lot of fun, just not in this chapter. Thanks for liking the ending!**

**Eric: rainbowpanther9, Nat's very happy that you're happy. Guest, we hope you're alright with us using your 's see, Nat doesn't own...what doesn't Nat own?**

**Me: The spirit of Christmas. Again, I don't mean to stick to one religion, I just used it for this situation. Happy holidays!**

**Eric: It's July.**

**Me: Don't ruin my happiness. Anyway, shipping time! Who would you guys like to see story Nat end up with? Gaara, or Eric? Be sure to review your answer and what you thought about the chapter! Bye guys! Quote of the chapter,**

_**I'm joking. Well, not really. I'm not going to do anything until you finally are comfortable to be with me...Just don't take too long. ~Gaara**_


	13. Red Christmas

**Me: Does Kishi even care at this point? Does he seriously even read the disclaimers?**

**Eric: They can read you.**

**Me: Oh, crap, we're back? Hello, internet! Thanks for coming back to read another chapter of In Reality! Since we still need to do this because of the law-**

**Kendall: I'm not afraid of the law! **

**Me: And I'm fed up with everyone in this room, including myself, I'll do the disclaimer this time. I-**

**Eric: Nat doesn't own Naruto or it's characters, Masashi Kishimoto does. **

**Kendall: In Reality was also co-written by Jazz! Also known as My life is a h0t mess! Be sure to read her stories once you're done with Nat's!**

**Me: Thanks a lot. I really appreciate that. By the way guys, just to clear things up, Story Nat and I are not the same. I just gave her my name. Narcissism, for the win! Which is also why I don't have a crush on this one! *Motions to Eric* Heh, I should use Nat in one of my disclaimers. Alright, enjoy the chapter, guys!**

* * *

**Nat PoV**

So Christmas day had finally come around and after the Christmas specials had explained to the group what the meaning of the holiday was, they seemed to be very happy about learning about it. Right now, I'm in my kitchen preparing the whole feast, along with a dish of everyone's favourite meal. Everyone else was back at the mansion, getting ready for the gift-exchange. They liked the idea so decided to do it. I smiled as I finished putting in some cinnamon rolls into the oven.

"Good thing my dad was a baker and taught me something before he left. I really hope Hinata-chan likes these." I said to myself as I also prepared some red-bean soup. I wanted the whole favourite dish thing to be a surprise so I didn't want anyone to help.

"N-Nat-chan?" I heard a soft voice behind me so I meeped. I turned around and found said bluenette there.

"Oh, Hinata-chan. What are you doing here?" I asked and she smiled.

"I came with m-my team and along with the S-Sand Siblings." She explained and I nodded.

"Wait, how'd you guys get in? I locked the doors." I said and in came the rest of team Kurenai.

"You think some locked doors can stop us? Man, you're not giving us enough credit, Nat-chan!" Kiba said and Shino adjusted his shades.

"That, and you gave us a key." He said while pulling out the silver key I let them have. I nodded then looked at them.

"So why did you come here, anyway?"

"Well, _Kazekage-sama _wanted us to help out. We couldn't just let you work here all alone on Christmas! Hey! You even made some beef jerky!" Kiba said excitedly then started chowing down. I rolled my eyes then took the plate away from him and bopped him on his nose.

"Bad dog. It was supposed to be a surprise but now the secret's out. I've been making everyone their favourite foods! Shino, I even made some salad and winter melon. Give it a try." I motioned to the platter and said boy did as told.

"It's…really good. Thank you, Natasha." He said softly and I smiled.

"Hinata, I also made some red-bean soup and some cinnamon rolls are in the oven. All I need to do now is make the Sand Siblings' food." I said and said siblings came into the kitchen.

"What about food?" Kankuro asked and I smiled.

"I'm making everyone's favourite food! I just need three more dishes and that's yours. Salisbury steak," I pointed to Kankuro. "Kenchin soup." I pointed to Temari. "Salted tongue and gizzard." I lastly pointed to Gaara.

"I've got a question, how is it that you know what our favourite foods are?" Shino asked and Kiba nodded.

"Yeah, it's a little bit creepy."

"I'm a creepster. That and there's a website that I use to get my information about you guys."

"Good enough for me. You need help making the rest of the food?" He asked and I took some time to think.

"Yeah, I guess so. But, you three." I pointed at the Sand Siblings. "Since I am making your food, you can't help. Just take the rest of the food over to the mansion. Pretty please?" I gave them the puppy dog look and Kankuro chuckled.

"Only because you're so adorable." He ruffled my hair and I smiled.

"Kankuro, back off." Gaara muttered and I looked at him.

"I've been waiting to here that for a while. My life is complete. Alright, go take the food away, shoo." I waved for them to go and they did as told.

"H-How would you like us to h-help?" Hinata asked and I shrugged.

"I need someone to make sure I don't set my kitchen on fire, Shino, you'll be in charge of that. Kiba, you'll just take out the ingredients, and Hinata can help me cook."

"Good, because I am not making salted tongue." Kiba stuck his tongue out while shaking his head and I laughed. The first dish that we started working on was Kankuro's Salisbury steak, and Kiba tried to eat it until I sent him to the corner on time-out.

"This is ridiculous!"

"You should've thought about that before you tried eating it raw!"

"I was curious!"

"Stop yelling. I'm sure that the whole neighbourhood can hear you yell." Shino intervened and I rolled my eyes. "Besides, I'm sure your cinnamon rolls are overcooked by now." My eyes widened and I dashed over to the oven to pull the baked goods out.

"Crap! They are overcooked!" I whined while examining the pastries. They had a darker tint than they were supposed to have. "I wonder if their still good…" I muttered before chomping onto one.

"How are they?" Kiba asked as I was chewing on the somewhat soft pastries.

"They're still good. They're just a bit harder than they're supposed to be and-MADRE DE DIOS!" I screamed bloody murder as the out-of-the-oven goods burned my mouth. I immediately spat them out and began panting.

"You didn't let them cool down?" Shino asked and I shook my head. I assumed he rolled his eyes at me. Hinata handed me a cup of cold water and I took it graciously.

"Th-Thanks, Hinata-chan." I said and she nodded. "So yeah, they're still good." I quickly regained my composure and Kiba walked over to me, then ate a cinnamon roll.

"They aren't so bad-DEAR SWEET KAMI!" He yelled then spat it out, rubbing his tongue afterwards. "Did you bake those in Hell?! Although you did do a nice job with them." I rolled my eyes as I put the tray of sweets onto the table.

"Hinata, I hope you like those. Or else Kiba and I burned our tongues for nothing." I said and the bluenette smiled then picked one up and took a bite out of it.

"I-It's sweet. Thank you, N-Nat-chan." She said shyly. Kiba and I looked at her with our mouths agape.

"They aren't hot?"

"N-No, not at all." She answered and I shrugged it off.

"Well alright then. I'm glad you like them." She smiled then nodded in response. Once we got that out of the way, and mine and Kiba's tongues cooled off, Hinata and I were stuck in the kitchen making the last dish, which was the tongue and gizzard. The boys were back at the mansion with the rest of the food. Leaving just me and the shy bluenette.

"N-Nat-chan, I wanted to ask you something. The other day, when E-Eric-kun was over, something made you upset." Hinata said out of nowhere and I looked at her. She was looking down while preparing the meat, then stopped and looked over to me.

"How did you know?" I asked and she gave me a weak smile, then pointed to her eyes.

"My b-byakugan. I knew that something was wrong, s-so, I had to check. I know what happened, and, I knew that y-you and I had the same problem. You know that I was in love with N-Naruto-kun, right? And that he hadn't noticed my f-feelings for him?" She asked and I hesitated, but nodded in response.

"Yeah. You have no idea how hard I shipped you two together." I chuckled at myself and she shook her head.

"M-My problem, was that I was being ignored by the one I loved. I know…that you had the same problem with E-Eric-kun." She finished and I looked at her, then started laughing at myself.

"Oh you have no idea! I've been head over heals for that guy for years! I was always shy around him." I said with a smile and she looked at me in shock.

"But, y-you don't seem like the kind to be shy. Was it because of h-him?" I smiled brighter, then nodded.

"Romantic feelings make people act like they aren't themselves. I would stutter, turn red, hide in a locker. Ah, good times." I sighed dreamily then went back to making the last dish.

"You seem s-so calm about it."

"Oh on the inside I'm dying. I always think to myself if anything would be different if I just told him my feelings. Well I sorta did, it was just after I thought he died. But, if anything actually were to happen to him…I don't know what I'd do. I can always move on, but he's always going to be the one guy that I had serious feelings for." I deeply sighed. Hinata looked at me, then put a hand on my shoulder.

"He and I talked, w-we were saying how foolish it was when someone doesn't notice our feelings for them. After that talk, I finally had enough c-courage to talk to Naruto-kun. And now we're t-together. I know what the sings of l-love are. N-Nat-chan, you're in love." Hinata explained, and I looked at her in confusion.

"W-What? No I'm not! I'm just…crazy." I'm pretty sure that I was trying to convince myself more than her.

"I've known Gaara-kun for years, and I know that he l-likes you, and you like him. But, he still doesn't know how to be r-romantically in love. Neither does Eric-kun, but he is more w-willing to learn. I can't choose for y-you, but sooner or later, you will have to. P-Please, I no longer want to see you how I was, h-hopelessly in love." She pleaded, and I opened my mouth to say something, but eventually nodded.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. It's nice to know that you care." I flashed a fake smile, and she gave me a real one in return, then pulled me in for a hug. I returned it while having and inner fangirl moment.

"So, what did you say about you and Naruto now being together?" I asked in a teasing tone and she blushed.

"Y-yes, he and I are now a couple." I cooed then glomped her.

"I've been waiting forever for that to happen! Granted he wasn't the main person I shipped you with but-"

"Sh-Shipped?" She asked and I looked at her, then felt my lips curve to a mischievous grin.

"I will introduce you to the world of shipping, one true pairings, and fandoms. Shipping is when you put two characters together like a couple. I shipped you and Naruto so hard, but I, uh, shipped you with a lot of other people as well." Her eyes widened as she blushed and began to fidget with her hands.

"L-Like?"

"Gaara, Kiba, Shino, Kankuro, Itachi, Shikamaru, some other people that shouldn't be named." I said and she looked at me in shock.

"You paired me up with G-Gaara-kun?"

"Only enough to make you two my one true pairing." I smiled then ruffled her hair and she blushed to a dark red.

"W-Why?"

"I'm strange. Don't you guys ever pair people up together?"

"Well, y-yes but-"

"There you go. Who did you ship together?" I asked and she seemed to regain her composure from earlier.

"Well, Kiba-kun and I-Ino-chan seemed to be nice together." She said and I smiled.

"I used to be a part of that fandom, and then Sai came along. I shipped him and Ino so hard. Kiba's pretty nice too. A loyal but somewhat annoying guy. Shino, however, that's a different story. The classic silent mystery."

"What about S-Sasuke-kun? He's also m-mysterious and silent." Hinata brought up and I shrugged.

"Leah's got a giant crush on him. And guess what, they're dating now." I smiled and she nodded.

"Y-Yes, I saw them together. Naruto-kun is the e-exact opposite, isn't he?" She asked and I laughed a bit to myself.

"Oh yeah, he is. He may be an overly energetic blonde, but he's still the most inspirational guy I know. Never going back on his word,"

"B-Being there for everyone."

"Willing to risk his own life for his friends. Heh, that guy is really something special. You've got yourself a keeper, Hinata-chan." I said with a warm smile, and she blushed then nodded.

As we kept cooking the last dish, Hinata and I just kept on talking about boys. She always had one good thing to say about them, if not more. I know that in the series she was really shy and she didn't get enough screen time as I'd like for her to have, but she's a really nice person in real life. Someone that you can kept a good conversation with. We stopped talking about the guys since we heard the door bell ring. I sighed then went to go get it.

"It's Christmas day, shouldn't they have plans?" I muttered to myself then opened the door.

"Guess what my parent's got me for Christmas!" It was Thomas. He stood outside my door with a light sweater jacket, and next to him I saw a suitcase. "An eviction letter! Can I stay with you?" He deadpanned and I looked at him with wide eyes.

"Thomas, your parents kicked you out?" I asked in shock and he sighed then nodded.

"Yeah, apparently I wasn't getting good enough grades in school, my attitude has been getting worse and I don't do anything to benefit the family anyway, so they packed my stuff and threw me out." He said bitterly and gave me a sad look. "Listen, you and I are friends, right? Can you let me stay? I can pay rent, and I won't be a burden. I just…I don't want to be alone." My heart started to melt. I gestured for him to go inside then gave him a warm hug.

"Of course you can stay. I just don't understand how your parents can kick you out on Christmas day! Oh, you must feel so bad."

"Actually, I feel relieved. My step dad was a jerk who didn't deserve my mom and my step brother and I never really had a real friendship or anything. I'm just glad that you took me in. Um, I don't exactly know how much first month's rent is but, here's some money anyway." He stammered out then handed me a wad of cash.

"Don't worry about it, I have enough to support us both." I handed it back to him and smiled. "Here, use it for a rainy day." He smiled at me, then nodded in return.

"Thanks, Nat. I'm really glad that I turned to you. This way we can be Christmas loners together." He joked and I giggled in response. I remembered that Hinata was still in the kitchen so I turned around.

"Hinata-chan, come on downstairs." I said and the bluenette did as told. She looked at Thomas then smiled. "You remember Thomas, right? He's going to be staying with me for a while." I finished and she bowed slightly to him.

"M-May I ask why you're staying here?"

"I got kicked out. Do I smell food?" He inhaled deeply then went upstairs to the kitchen. "Whoa! Steak!" He exclaimed then almost took a huge bite out of the Salisbury steak. I groaned then took it away from him and bonked him upside the head lightly.

"Bad boy. This is for Kankuro. I already have a bunch of the food back at the mansion." I said and he pouted like a small child.

"But I want food!" He whined and I rolled my eyes.

"Well, why don't you come over to the m-mansion with us? I'm sure the o-others won't mind an extra guest." Hinata offered and he smiled.

"Yay! Food!"

"Calm down. Once we finish Gaara's dish, then we can go. You can help us carry the rest of the food." I said and he started to nod excitedly. Once we finally did finish that last dish, we carried the Sand Siblings' food to the mansion. It wasn't a long walk at all, it's really close, considering the fact that I live right next to it. The sky was white and covered with clouds as it was snowing.

"Wee-woo. Wee-woo." Thomas started singing and I looked at him. He pointed to one of the fire trucks that were speeding by us and I rolled my eyes. "I wonder which sucker forgot to put the fireplace out." He chuckled to himself. My eyes followed them and I noticed that they stopped six houses away from where we were.

"Oh no." I muttered to myself and I set the platter down on the ground. I squinted my eyes to get a better look at where they were, then gasped.

"Nat?" Thomas called but I ignored him. I sprinted to the house, my feet being weighed down by the snow on the sidewalk. _That's Leah's house. I hope she's alright. _I thought to myself as I skidded to a stop in front of the house.

"Miss, you can't be here. You need to leave." One of the firemen said to me, trying to block my path, only to have me push him away.

"My friend is in there! You need to tell me what's going on!" I yelled at him and he kept me in place.

"Listen, your friend isn't in there. All of the occupants of the house made it outside alive, you don't need to worry." He reassured me and I nodded. I tried to look to see if Leah and her family were out there. I was able to see them, and Libby.

Leah just stood out on the sidewalk in front of her house, not moving from her spot. She just looked on as the firemen tried to put out the flames. I tried to get a closer look at her, noticing that she was covered in black ash. She was just standing there in shock, her chest moving up and down as if she was panting. Libby was right next to her, barking at her master to do something.

"It's a quick moving fire. It swallowed the whole house after they got out." The fireman with me said, looking at me with a smile. "It's a good thing they got out just in time. Usually calls like this don't end in a good way." I finally pushed past him and jogged over to Leah. She looked into my eyes, then latched herself onto me, bitter tears starting to fall.

"I was so scared." She whispered to me, and I hugged her back.

"Don't worry, you're alright now. It's all gonna be fine." I soothed, and she pulled herself away from me.

"It's not! I'm the reason that fire started! Because of me just wanting to be a little bit warmer and turning the fireplace on, not noticing the sparks flying onto the carpet, my whole house is gone!" She buried her head in her hands and started to sob.

"Leah, you couldn't have prevented that. The fireman said that the fire could've eaten you guys up if you didn't get away in time. This could've gone worse!" I said and she looked up at me, her hair falling into her eyes.

"Really? I could've died?" She asked and I nodded. She gasped then held onto me again.

"But, I still don't have a home anymore."

"Leah!" We both snapped our heads up at the sound of Leah's older brother, John. "Come on, mom and dad are trying to book a hotel room for us to stay in." He said and started tugging Leah along with him.

"Hey, John!" I yelled and he looked back at me. "What if she stays with me? She's over at my house a bunch of the times anyway, it wouldn't be a problem." I said and Leah smiled at me, then looked up at her brother.

"Can I?" She asked and he sighed, then looked at me.

"Are you sure it wouldn't be a bother?" He asked and I nodded. "Alright then. Leah, you can stay with Nat. I'll go tell mom and dad." Leah cheered, then ran over to me.

"Thanks, Nat. This means a lot." I nodded, then held her hand as we started to walk back to Hinata and Thomas.

"Dude, what happened?" Thomas asked and Leah sighed.

"I'll explain everything once we're inside. Just…no fire." She muttered that last part to herself as we went inside of the mansion. Everyone seemed to be waiting for us in the living room. They smiled once they saw us then looked at Leah in shock.

"What happened?" Sasuke asked as he stood up and went over to her. She gave him a weak smile in return.

"I'm homeless now. My house burned down when I lit the fireplace."

"Oh…crap." Thomas muttered to himself, talking about the joke he made earlier and I nudged him with my elbow.

"Your house burned down? Well, if you need a place to stay you can stay here. It won't be any trouble." Sasuke offered and Leah shook her head.

"It's alright. Nat already offered for me to stay with her."

"Roommates!" Thomas cheered and Leah looked at him. "My parents kicked me out and now I'm staying with Nat, too." He explained and she nodded.

"Aw, Leah. Do you need anything?" Tenten asked and she shook her head, but her stomach growled.

"Maybe some food?" She said shyly and I smiled.

"Well it's a good thing it's time to eat! Come on, let's go have a nice Christmas dinner!" I said in excitement and everyone filed into the dining room.

"Holy crap. When did you make all of this?" Leah asked while examining all of the food on the table.

"I had all night since I couldn't get to sleep. Temporary insomnia kinda kicked in. Well, I hope everyone enjoys their food!" I said as everyone got their plate of their food.

For team seven, Naruto had his ramen and red bean soup, Sakura had her dumplings, and Sasuke had his rice-balls. For team eight, Kiba had his beef jerky, Shino had his salad, and Hinata had her red bean soup and cinnamon rolls. For team ten, Shikamaru had his mackerel and kelp, Choji had his barbecue and chips, and Ino had her pudding and cherry tomatoes. For team Gai, Lee had his curry rice and pilaf, Neji had his herring sob, and Tenten had her sesame dumplings. Lastly, the Sand Siblings had their food as Leah, Thomas and I got the ham that I made earlier.

"Itadakimasu." The Naruto gang and I muttered as we began to eat.

"What does that even mean?" Thomas asked as he was chowing down on some mashed potatoes.

"It's means 'Let's eat.' It's a Japanese saying before you eat." I explained and he nodded.

"Wow, Nat. this is really good. Thanks for making it for us." Tenten said and I smiled at her.

"No problem. I wanted to do something special for you guys since we're friends now. Aside from all the madness that's been happening. It's nice for us to be together for the holidays, huh?" I asked and they all nodded. Leah stood up with her drink in her hand.

"A toast! To new friendships, new beginnings, and happy lives!"

"Is that champagne?"

"Apple cider. Anyway, to the Naruto characters!" She said with a smile and they all raised their glasses.

"To Kishimoto!"

"Who?" Naruto asked me and I smiled.

"He's the creator of the series that's your home. He started in early 2000's and eventually went on from there. Without him, we wouldn't be able to meet you guys." I explained and he smiled.

"Then, to Kishimoto-sama!"

"To Kishimoto-sama!" They all cheered then took a sip out of their glasses.

Once the feast was over, everyone was exchanging their presents in the living room. We all decided that we would do secret Santa for the gift exchange. I pulled out the present that I had for my little receiver. It was a small wrapped box and in it, had a sound wave bracelet. A sound wave bracelet is a bracelet made up of the sound waves of a saying that the person who gives them the present says. I opened the box slightly to take a look, then smiled to myself.

_In exchange for love for oneself, I give you affection._

Along with the bracelet came a little piece of paper which says the actual phrase. The bracelet itself was a beautiful shade of crimson red. Can you guess who I got? That's right, the one and only Sabaku no Gaara. _I hope he likes it. Or else I spent half of my birthday money on nothing._ I chuckled to myself then felt someone's presence from behind me.

"N-Nat-chan?" I turned around then found Hinata there. She had a medium sized box in her hands.

"Hey, Hinata-chan. What's the box for?" I asked and she smiled shyly, then presented it to me.

"It's your p-present. I was your secret S-Santa." She stammered out and I smiled, then gave her a hug.

"Aw! Thanks, Hinata-chan! What'd ya' get me? Even if it's a stick, I'll love it because it came from you." I took off the lid of the box then gasped.

"It's a t-teddy bear." She explained and I pulled it out. It was a stuffed bear that looked handmade, with a tint of purple on it, and the Konoha symbol on it. "H-Hanabi, my sister, made this for me a long time ago. I want you to have it, because I consider us g-great friends." She gave me a warm smile and I just stared at it in joy.

"I love it! It's so adorable!" I pressed it against my chest tightly and Hinata giggled to herself.

"I'm g-glad you do." She said and I examined the bear.

"She doesn't have a name. Well, in honour of your sister, I'm naming her Hanabi."

"I'm sure that my s-sister would like that. May I ask who you are going to give your p-present to?" She said timidly and I looked at the small box in my hand, then nodded.

"It's for Gaara."

"What about me?" I meeped then hid behind Hinata. I looked up and saw said insomniac there, a wrapped frame in his hands.

"I, uh…hi." I waved to him and he rolled his eyes but waved back.

"Now, what were you two talking about?" He asked as I started to come out from behind Hinata. I smiled then presented him my gift.

"I'm your secret Santa. Here's your present." I said as he took it out of my hands then opened the box.

"A bracelet?" He asked as he pulled it out. He looked at the card then at the bracelet. "Oh, it's a Sound Wave bracelet. And…you added a phrase." He read the card, then smiled to himself.

"So I take it that you like it?" I asked and he nodded, then leaned in closer to me to give me a peck on the cheek. I blushed then smiled at him.

"Thank you, Nat-hime." He smiled then turned to Hinata.

"Hinata, I have a present for you." Insert inner fangirl squeal. Gaara handed the frame to Hinata and she opened it up.

"Pressed f-flowers." She looked at it in awe then smiled. I took a look at the present and smiled as well. It was a portrait made out of pressed lavender flowers and his signature on the bottom.

"Naruto told me that your hobby was pressing flowers, so I decided to make you this." He explained and she looked up at him then smiled.

"Thank you, G-Gaara-kun!" Hinata said then gave the crimson-haired boy a big hug. He seemed stunned at first then shrugged and hugged her back. I cooed then clutched my heart. This was my favourite pairing in the world and seeing them hug just made my heart melt! _I just…my feels! _I don't care if I'm into Gaara, he's into me, or if Hinata and I are friends, I ship that pairing so hard, it's not even funny.

I ship it. I ship it hard.

"Now kiss." I whispered to myself. I would die happy if they did kiss. They pulled away from each other and I pouted.

"What's wrong?" Gaara asked me and I regained my composure.

"Oh, nothing. I just...need to put up some mistletoes." I muttered to myself and he raised an invisible eyebrow.

"What was that?"

"I'M COMING, LEAH!" I yelled then scurried away. I didn't have to explain myself. I left them then made my way to the dining room.

"Huh? What?" Leah muttered as she had some food in her mouth. She was still eating and Sasuke was spoon feeding her. I stared at her then blinked. "…It makes me feel like a princess." She explained and I nodded.

"Well, I just wanted to stop by and say, Merry Christmas." I pulled out a small box out of my pocket. I handed it to her and she opened it.

"A necklace?" She asked and I smiled, then nodded. I took it from her, then opened it. "Oh, it's a locket! With…our pictures in them. From when we were kids." He smiled while looking inside. On the right side was a picture of baby Leah, when she was six. On the left was my picture, when I was five.

"Do you like it?"

"Hell yeah I do! Thanks, kid." She hugged me and I smiled then hugged her back. She pulled away then chuckled to herself.

"My house might've been burnt to a crisp but I still have you. Thanks. Today's been fun, a nice…Red Christmas."

* * *

**Me: THERE IS A REASON I DON'T WRITE GAAHINA STUFF AND THAT'S BECAUSE IT TOOK ME TWO DAYS TO FINISH THE LAST PART! I JUST GET TOO HAPPY AND MY FEELS START TO HURT! Anyway, I ship that paring so hard, it just makes me happy and...words cannot describe. Anyway, the way I know everyone's favourite foods is because I use the Narutopedia. Don't go there, many spoilers. A lot of stuff happened in this chapter. Thomas was kicked out and Leah's house burned down. Roomies!**

**Eric: What about me and Kendall? We've got it pretty bad, too.**

**Me: B-List character says what? Don't worry, I'll have something for you guys. I can't just forget about my own characters.**

**Alex: YOU WERE SAYING?! REMEMBER ME?!**

**Me: ...Eric, hide me. She's back. Anyone remember Alex? I'll start working on her story. Oh, I forgot to mention something. In about three weeks I'll be leaving for a couple of weeks and that means no writing. I know. Sad face. But, that means I can probably get two chapters in for this story. Alright, feedback time!**

**Kendall: HubbleHerpes, Courtney is a really bad person. Hopefully Nat gets to that soon. Your impatient waiting is now over! read'it'but'dont'believe'it, he will protect me, right Eric?**

**Eric: I think I already proved that. **

**Kendall: Anyway, we're glad you liked the little hint. Wooimmafox1305, Kankuro would probably be the first to do something.**

**Me: I'd also like to say that I'm glad you like that I reply. I just feel like you guys are my friends, so that way I can talk to you guys easier than I do with people in real life, sad, really. I just feel like that since you guys actually do read the story and take time to review, I should atleast talk back to you guys. Guest, I wanted to choose the Sand Siblings as well then my brother had some input. It made him happy.**

**Alex: Guess who's staying since her creator abandoned her! **

**Me: I didn't abandon you. I'm just taking a break. So, the lovely Alex Lopez will now be staying with us. How she got in, I don't know. Oh, I almost forgot, who do you guys want to see Nat end up together by the end of the story? Eric, or Gaara? Be sure to review your answer and what you liked about the chapter. Goodbye, my lovely Creatures of the Night!**


	14. Tender moments

**Me: So I was reading my old stories and then I read this one which really made me think that I've changed since a year ago. I look back at the writing then and now, I get happy that it's gotten better. I'm glad that you guys have been here as my writing has matured, to some extent. Really, I appreciate that, thanks guys. Okay, it's disclaimer time. **

**Alex: Nat only owns her characters and no Naruto character. Masashi Kishimoto does.  
**

**Eric: The story was also co-written my Jazz.**

**Kendall: Also known as My life is a h0t mess. Be sure to read her stories when your done with Nat's.**

**Me: Enjoy the chapter guys!**

* * *

"Wait a minute." Sasuke muttered before taking the locket into his hands and examining it. "You two are very young in these photos. They must be ten years old. How long have you two known each other?" He asked and we smiled at each other.

"Since we were little babies! It was our destiny for us to become best buds!" Leah cheered and we attracted someone else's attention.

"What about destiny?" Neji asked as he and Tenten came over to us.

"Oh, we were just saying that we were meant to be friends with each other." I showed him the pictures of Leah and me when we were smaller, and Tenten cooed. "We've been friends for fourteen years or so."

"Yup. Way back when." Leah sighed dreamily then started staring off into the distance. I bonked her lightly upside the head then shook my head.

"No flashbacks. Save it for storytime."

"DID SOMEONE SAY STORYTIME?!" Naruto yelled as he dashed over to us. He plopped down on the ground and lied down on his stomach. He looked up at me with content. "Tell me a story, auntie Nat-chan." Naruto smiled brightly and I rolled my eyes but smiled anyway.

"Fine. But only if everyone else is here. Hey!" I cupped my hands and yelled so that everyone would pay attention. "Gather 'round, children! Gather 'round! It's storytime!" I exclaimed and they all did as told, even the more stoic members of the group.

"It's time for a story to tell, although it wasn't thought out very well-"

"We've already been over this. Just get to the actual story." Neji snapped and Leah pouted but shrugged it off.

"Do you guys wanna learn how we became besties?" She asked and the Naruto gang nodded in return.

"Didn't you guys kill a goat or something?" Thomas asked and we shook our heads.

"It all started way back when. Is it flashback time yet, Nat?"

"Yes it is."

"Yay! Anyway, it's the story of how Leah Hood and Natasha Cortez met…" Leah sighed then started staring off in a random direction as I stared off into the opposite direction. "It's over here, sweetie." She snapped her fingers then pointed in the direction she was staring at. I muttered an 'Oh' then stared in _that_ direction.

* * *

The scenery was a small daycare. Toys are scattered all over, crayons and paper covering up most of the floor. Kids from ages one to five were the occupants of the daycare, along with the teacher. She was trying to keep up with the older kids as they scurried about the room. At the sound of the doorbell ringing, the lady stopped her chase for the moment and went to go answer the door. Once she did, she found three people at the door. A young couple and their small daughter being held in the arms of her mother.

"Oh, hello. I assume you're going to be dropping her off?" She asked the young couple and they nodded in return.

"Yes, we both need to get to work. We'll be back in five hours, here's the stuff she'll need." The father said, handing her a bag with all the necessary items for taking care of the child. The lady took it and was handed the small child as well.

"Aren't you adorable?" She cooed after the couple left, and the small girl giggled in return. She had long wavy hair, a light shade of orange to match her bright green eyes. Her cheeks were a bit chubby, all making her look even more adorable. She wore a pink shirt with white polka dots and a matching skirt.

"Come on, let's put you in the play pen." She carried her to the small area in the corner where the younger children were at, or would be. The only one there was another girl.

"Now, you seem to be like you're two years old, is that right?" She asked and the girl in her hands nodded vigorously. "Good, so you'll be good friends with this one. She's almost going to turn two years old." She set her down in the playing area, right in front of a little fence so the children inside wouldn't wander off. The lady smiled as the child looked around, then she went back to the other children.

The little girl smiled once she spotted the other girl in the area. She had dark brown hair that reached her neck, bangs falling into her eyes. Even though she had her knees brought to her face as she hugged them, you could still tell what she was wearing. She had on a baby blue top with green shorts. The older child got on her hands and knees then started to crawl over to her. Once she did, she smiled at her then pointed to herself.

"Leah!" She introduced herself in her own special little way. Leah then pointed to the girl. "And joo?" She was just learning to use her motor skills so it was expected for her to mispronounce words. The brunette girl looked up at her, then smiled shyly.

"N-Nat." She stuttered out and Leah sat next to her, putting an arm around her shoulder.

"Friends." She said simply. Nat looked at her, curiosity in her eyes. Leah looked down at her then smiled. "Friends?" She asked, making sure that it was all right with little Nat. She smiled, then timidly nodded her head.

"Friends." Nat confirmed, then hugged Leah from the side. She giggled then hugged her back, neither of them knowing that a simple seven letter word would set them for life.

After the two girls had agreed to become friends, they would play with each other whenever they were dropped off in the daycare. As the years had gone by, they would visit each other, discovering that they were simply a few houses apart. Going to the same primary school, and elementary school made their bond grow stronger. Not once did their friendship falter.

They had similar interests, liked the same foods, music, subjects, and were both weird. They basked in it, loved that just because they were different from everyone else, didn't mean that they had to be the same for each other, they were already the same. They both would tell each other everything, if they were sad, if they were hurt, and if they had someone on their minds.

In fact, they were in the cafeteria at school, Leah was rambling on about the guys at their school, while Nat was just listening intently. They were in seventh grade, girls have a right to gossip. As Leah went on listing all the boys at school that she thought was attractive, Nat just stared off in the distance, looking at one person in particular.

He was sitting all by his lonesome, well, not exactly. People were sitting around him, chatting away as if he wasn't there. He didn't mind, he was just doodling on his arm, not looking up at any of them.

"And anyway, Matt's a sweet guy but-why aren't you eating?" Leah asked after noticing that her friend hadn't taken a bite out of any of her food. Nat ignored her, continuing to stare at the boy. "Nat? Natasha-bear. Snap out of it and smell the roses!" Leah shook her violently then slapped her upside the head.

"Ack! Hey!" Nat yelped and Leah rolled her eyes. She regained her composure then went back to what she was doing before. Leah followed her gaze then shook her head.

"Oh man, you've got it bad." Leah muttered and Nat looked at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Whadduya mean?" She asked skeptically and her ginger friend smirked.

"I can see it all over your face! You totally like that dude! Come on, admit it. Little ol' Leah is right." She pestered and Nat rolled her eyes.

"Fine, I do have a crush on him."

"Ha! I knew it!" Leah bragged while pointing a finger to her friend. "Heh, sorry. What's his name, anyway? He's always so quiet in class."

"Eric. Eric Evans. And that's the problem. Since he's always quiet, I haven't been able to be friends with him. If anything, friendship is all I need." Nat sighed lustfully and Leah thought of something to say.

"Well, no offense but you're not exactly the outgoing type. You were as bad as him, remember? If you actually want to be friends, just go for it." She said with a smile and Nat shook her head.

"He probably won't be interested in me. Oh God! What if he knows that I like him?! He'll probably hate me forever! Thinking that the weird, insane, yaoi lover girl is probably stalking him or something!"

"Dude, your paranoia is acting up again. Calm down, it's not the end of the world." Leah comforted her and Nat sighed in return. "Besides, you'll probably forget about him in a month. There is one guy you can count on, though.' She said with a mischievous smile. Her brunette friend instantly perked up and smiled.

"Yeah! I'm always going to have my Sabaku no Gaara!"

"And I'm always going to have my Sasuke Uchiha."

"Ah, fandoms." They both sighed dreamily, thinking about their favourite anime. Shortly after discovering it, they both fell in love with the two characters.

* * *

"Hey, remember when we would buy turkeys and just put them at random people's doormats?" Leah asked and I giggled then nodded.

"Oh yeah! Mr. Johnson threatened to sure us for harassment. Ah, good times."

"Guys, this was last week." Thomas commented and we sighed then smiled.

"Yeah, back in the day." Leah chuckled then clasped her hands together. "So did you guys like the story?" She asked and everyone else nodded.

"So, you two have been friends since almost the beginning, huh?" Tenten asked and we nodded. "Wow, that's pretty impressive. I haven't heard of a friendship that strong." She commented and Naruto coughed. We looked over to him and he smirked then gave Gaara a brotherly hug.

"What about us, huh?"

"…I ship it hard." I muttered to myself and Leah elbowed me. "Ow. Ya' butt. Anyway, I think you two beat us." I said and they smiled at us.

"So, you've been having feelings for me for a few years now." Gaara teased me and I blushed then nodded.

"Yeah, rub it in, why don't you? Well, you weren't exactly my first anime crush."

"You had others?"

"Let's see, there was Ash, InuYasha, Sesshomaru, Gin, Sanji, Death the Kid, Crona, I love you Crona, and a couple more." I listed and he looked at me in disbelief. "You were just the one I stopped on. Don't you feel special?" I said sarcastically and he pouted like a child.

"I better be the last one." He muttered to himself and I laughed then went to give him a quick peck on the cheek.

"You won't be. You can't be my last anime crush if you're in this world, that just doesn't make any sense." I teased and he blushed then looked up at me with determined eyes.

"Well what if any of them come into this world like how we did? Would you still pick me?" He asked with genuine curiosity in his voice. I chuckled then nodded.

"Of course. I'd pick you over them any day. Well maybe not Crona. He's still my Crona-kun." I sighed lustfully and he glared at me.

"You're joking."

"Maybe a little." I snickered, knowing that it made Gaara uneasy about me thinking about someone else. I pulled out my phone and showed him the picture of Crona that I had. What? I like looking at it when I'm sad.

"Him? He's a freak." Gaara said bitterly and I laughed.

"I'm just kidding, Gaara. I don't even know if he's a guy or a girl, I like to think he's a guy. Don't worry, you're the only guy I would date if you came from an anime. Jesus, I really need to get my priorities in check." I muttered to myself and he smiled at me, giving me a soft peck on the cheek.

"You'll always be mine, Nat-hime." He whispered in my ear and I blushed then smiled in return. "You know that, right?" He asked and I nodded in response.

"Yeah, I know that."

**Kankuro PoV**

"Gaara, can I talk to you in private?" I asked, breaking the tender moment that my brother and Nat were having. He looked up at me then nodded. We walked over to the TV room, closing the door behind us. Gaara crossed his arms then leaned against the wall, and I sighed.

"What is it, Kankuro?" He asked and I wracked my brain trying to think of how to say this to him.

"Listen, I know you don't exactly like that blonde kid."

"Naruto is my best friend."

"I meant the other one."

"Ino isn't so bad."

"The _other_ one."

"Neither is Thomas."

"Gaara!" I snapped then gave out an aggravated sigh to calm myself down. "I was talking about Eric." I said and he looked at me, then started to walk out.

"This was a nice talk, Kankuro. Let's not have it again." He said sarcastically and I rolled my eyes then blocked his path.

"Like I said, I know you don't like him but there's something I really need to tell you."

"Did he tell anyone about us?"

"No."

"Is he trying to steal my Nat-hime?"

"Not exactly but that's not the point." I sighed, still trying to find a way to put my thoughts into words. Gaara narrowed his eyes at me, wanting me to continue.

"Kankuro, was is it that you're not telling me?" He sounded like he was talking to a small child, which is ironic since I am his older brother.

"Okay, look. I know what happens and what has happened to that kid, right? Well, he doesn't exactly have a happy life at home."

"Why is it my business that he's not having a perfect family to be there for him? We didn't exactly have one, either." Gaara retorted and I rolled my eyes.

"That doesn't matter. Gaara, he and his brother are being abused. It's been going for a while." I finally came out with it. He looked at me in shock, then turned away, refusing to look at me.

"And?"

"And? What the hell do you mean _and_?! They've been beaten, they've had mental breakdowns, they've sobbed their little hearts out and you're expecting more?!" I yelled and he glared at me in return.

"We've dealt with worse."

"That's not the point, Gaara! This kid has been tossed around like a rag doll since he could walk! And so has his brother! He tries so hard to hide it behind this stoic attitude as his own way of dealing with it! He can't trust anyone because he assumes that they're going to hurt him, and he hates seeing his baby brother in pain!" I cried out, and he looked at me with sad eyes.

"Like how you never did?"

"Don't you dare turn this on me, Gaara! This is about what happened to us, it's about what's happening to them! I told you because I thought that you might've had a plan to stop it. What should we do?" I asked as I finally calmed down and he looked at me, contemplating what to do.

"Nothing." He shook his head and I stared at him in disbelief.

"Nothing? You want us to do nothing?! Why not?!" I yelled, at this point, I finally was starting to lose it.

I've known about this for a while, ever since the day after we met him. Granted I had a sick feeling in my stomach when the jutsu was performed but, it all came to me when he went home, only to be smacked around. Yeah, I don't have a bond with him like how I do with any of my other friends, but I can't stand knowing that he and his brother are being _disciplined _the way they are.

You think it didn't hurt me seeing _my _baby brother get bullied because of a demon that was hurting him from the inside? I may not like brats, but I just couldn't stand it. The reason I want to help that guy is because I don't want to see him turn out like Gaara. Eventually hating the world and everyone in it. I had kept it to myself for a while but it needs to come to an end.

"Kankuro," Gaara brought me out of my thoughts, a calm and collected look on his face. "It isn't any of our business if his parents are hitting him. He's almost an adult, now. He should be able to handle himself." He explained, and I glared at him in return. I grabbed him by his collar then tugged him closer.

"That doesn't matter. And it isn't his parents that are hitting him. They don't know a single thing. It's his sister." I let go of him and he looked at me with wide eyes.

"His sister? Flesh and Blood?" He asked and I nodded. He looked at the ground, seeming to regret what he said.

"How old is she?"

"Just three years older than him. Remind you of anyone?" I asked and he snapped his head up, looking at me.

"Temari." He muttered, a look of shock written all over his face. I sighed, then put a hand on his shoulder.

"Exactly. We would've been screwed if Temari was ever like that. You're my baby brother, Gaara." I looked at him dead in the eye, feeling something form in my eyes. "He would protect his own brother with his life. It makes me regret not ever doing that with you." I pulled him close to me, giving my baby brother a hug.

"Kankuro…" He muttered, then hugged me back. I smiled, resting my head on top of his. "You're crying." He said and I looked down at him, then smiled.

"Yeah, I know." I didn't even try to wipe away the tears. I sniffled then held him closer. "I don't know why, but I just feel so passionate about that subject. I guess, I just can't imagine us three being in that situation. Temari hurting us, me trying to protect you, both of us just being in fear. I'm sorry, Gaara." I muttered to myself and he pulled away, tilting his head in confusion.

"For what?" He asked, and I tried to wipe away my tears with my sleeve so I could look at him better. They were making my vision blurry.

"I'm sorry that I never protected you. I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you, giving you the love you wanted…I'm sorry I wasn't a good brother." I kept apologizing, lowering my head down in shame. Gaara sighed, then lifted my head up enough for me to look him in the eyes.

"I forgive you…nii-san. Please don't cry." He said with a warm smile and I returned it, then finally stopped my tears.

"Th-Thanks. Gaara, I want to do something about Eric and his brother. Please, tell me you have a plan." I pleaded and he sighed then shook his head.

"I can't say that I do. I wouldn't know how to deal with a problem like this. But I know that you can. I don't want to be involved in something that I shouldn't be. I'm not very fond of him. But if it bothers you that much, do what you need to do. Just…Just promise me one thing." He asked and I nodded.

"Whatever it is, sure. As long as I am able to help him." I said and he sighed.

"Promise me that you won't tell Nat-hime. I don't want her to worry, I know that it would crush her if she found out." He said and I looked at him. _I thought he would've just wanted her for himself but he actually just doesn't to see her upset. _He held his hand out for me to shake.

"I promise, Gaara. I won't tell her." I shook his hand and he smiled. "I'm going to go over to his house right now so that I could talk to him about it." He nodded as we walked back out, greeted by Temari.

"I heard what was going on." She deadpanned and we glanced at each other, then at her. She gave us a weak smile then gave us a hug. "Just know that I would never hurt you two. You're my brothers, and I love you with all my heart." She gave us both a kiss on the cheek to know that she wasn't lying.

"We love you too, Temari." We both said in unison and she smiled, then turned to me.

"Kankuro, I know that you're going to do the right thing. Go on, I'll cover for you." She said and I smiled, then nodded. I made some quick hand signs.

"Transportation jutsu," I turned to my siblings. "I'll be back by the end of the day, don't tell anyone about what's going on." I said to them and they nodded in return.

I closed my eyes, letting the jutsu take its effect. I already knew where the kid lived so it'll be easy getting there. One of the fun things about the jutsu is that if I close my eyes and concentrate hard enough, I can be able to see what he sees. I did so, and saw his hands out in front of him. I kept on looking closely at his hands, then noticed something. On his left wrists were cuts.

"Oh hell." I muttered to myself then opened my eyes to see where I was. I was at hid front door. I sighed then knocked at the door.

"We don't want to hear any Christmas Carolers!" A girl's voice called out and I rolled my eyes.

"That's not what I'm here for!"

"We don't want to hear about our Lord and Saviour either! We've already found God!" She yelled and I facepalmed.

I closed my eyes again to see what the kid was seeing. Now he was just at his desk, writing something down. _Perfect. _I thought to myself as I used the chakra strings that were already implanted in him. I got the pencil and notebook and made some motions to write something down for him.

'Open the damn door.' I wrote and he looked at it in disbelief. He shrugged then went downstairs to open the door.

"Who is-" He looked at me. "Oh." He muttered and I rolled my eyes then grabbed his arm.

"Just because you're having problems at home doesn't mean it's justified for you to harm yourself." I scowled as I examined his cuts and he rolled his eyes.

"You of all people should know these were an accident." He muttered and I looked at him, then remembered something.

He was strumming his guitar when he accidentally scraped his wrist against the strings.

"Oh right." I blinked and he rolled his eyes.

"What was it that you needed?" He asked and I looked him dead in the eye.

"Get your brother, we need to talk. Now." I said and he looked at me, then glanced inside.

"You know, don't you?" He sighed and I crossed my arms then nodded. "Alright, I'll go get him." He went back inside then quickly came out with his younger brother. He looked at me in shock.

"Whoa! You look just like Kankuro!" He exclaimed and my eyes widened. _Nice going. The whole point of putting him under the jutsu was for no one else to find out. _

"Uh, who?" I asked, trying to play dumb.

"Kendall, this is my friend. Um, Max. Yeah, that'll work." Eric muttered to himself and I smiled at Kendall.

"Hey, kid. I'm here to help you guys." I gave them a warm smile. The door opened to show the sister, I glared at her.

"Oh, who's this?" She flashed me a fake smile then turned to Eric.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?"

"Actually, I need to take these boys over to the school because they…need some tutoring." I lied and she raised an eyebrow at me.

"Oh, but can't it wait until the break's over? It's Christmas day and I'm their sister. We should spend it as a family." I could tell that she was being sarcastic. I shook my head then tugged them away by their collars,

'Nope, this is necessary. We'll be back by…we'll be back." I just wanted to get out of there. I did not like Courtney at all.

"Kankuro-I mean, Max," Eric tried to correct himself. "What is it that we have to talk about?" He asked and I smiled at them.

"Like I said, I'm goin to help you guys. I know that she hurts you." They both winced in response, and I sighed. "I'm going to stop it. I don't know how, but I will. I promise." I said to them and they nodded. Kendall went up to me and gave me a hug.

"Max, you're the angel that my brother and I prayed for…so that you can make her stop, aren't you?" He asked in a soft voice and I looked down at him, then smiled and ruffled his hair. I looked over to Eric and he smiled at me.

"Yeah, I'm that angel, kid. I'm that angel."

* * *

**Me: I said that I had something planned out for Eric and Kendall. Yup, Kankuro is that sweet angel that needed to help. I hope the Sand Brothers scene was nice. A tear was shed when I wrote that.**

**Eric: Aw, she actually does have feelings.**

**Me: But only ONE tear. The rest I will deny. I wanted to explain the Nat and Leah thing and I thought it was pretty cute. I like Kankuro a lot in this story. He tries. Let's see, the characters that Nat listed, if you wanted to know where they were from, here it is. Ash is from Pokemon, InuYasha and Sesshomaru are from InuYasha, Gin is from Bleach, Sanji is from One Piece and Death the Kid and Crona are from Soul Eater.**

**Kendall: Yay, we get an angel! Kankuro's going to help us!**

**Eric: Well, hopefully Kankuro will be able to help us out. Thanks for putting that in there, Nat.**

**Me: Heh, you make it sound like a happy ending. Anyway, feedback time. My life is a h0t mess, que bien que te gusto. Eso me importa mucho. rainbowpanther9, I'm pretty sure they did something really bad if you have to vote twice. Eric, you screwed up bad.**

**Eric; How was I supposed to-**

**Me: B-List character says what? Anyway, read'it'but'dont'believe'it, thank you! Someone agrees with me! I'll have to do the roomies chapter next time. Shipping time! **

**Kendall: Who do you guys want to see story Nat end up with by the end of the story?**

**Eric: Me, or Gaara? Right now, it's six for Gaara and three for me.**

**Alex: Be sure to review your answer and what you liked about the chapter. Goodbye, Nat's Creatures of the Night.**


	15. Stake-Out

**Me: Well I'm pretty bummed out.**

**Alex: It's the fifteenth chapter, you should be happy.**

**Me: I know but the fact that I did this in one day really lets me know where I am in life. I should really go out more or something like that, I could party. Anyway, yay! We've finally made it to the fifteenth chapter! **

**Kendall: Can we party?**

**Eric: No since you locked us in here. Nat owns no Naruto characters. Masashi Kishimoto does.**

**Alex: The story was also co-written by Jazz, also known as My life is a h0t mess. Go read her stories once you're done with Nat's.**

**Me: When will I disclaim my story again? Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter, guys!**

* * *

**Nat PoV**

A week has gone by and we've been prepping the Naruto gang to go to school with us, which is really troublesome and sucks the life out of me. Right now I'm just blissfully sleeping, dreading for the day to come. I felt a bit of pressure around my stomach area but I just ignored it, it's probably just a cramp. I honestly don't know what goes on in my body, I'm pretty sure my organs are having a party in there. I felt a tug on my hair so I snapped my eyes open then looked around.

…There's a Thomas spooning me…

"Get the hell off of me." I snapped while pushing him away. He grunted in response then groggily opened his eyes. He blinked then looked at me.

"Oh hey, Nat. What's up?" He asked calmly and I kicked him out of my bed. He fell down with a thud and the covers were off of him.

"What did I tell you about you sleeping in your boxers?"

"Want me to take them off?"

"THOMAS!" I blushed and he snickered in return. "Listen, if you keep sneaking into my room at night then spooning me, I will have you sleep outside. Understood?" I said and he nodded. Ever since I let him stay here, I discovered that he's a hugger. I keep on waking up to him cuddling me from behind and it scares me to know that he sneaks into my room…when my door is locked.

"Hey, you know I don't like being all alone. My parents didn't let me bring my teddy bear so you're the next best thing I got." He smiled at me and I rolled my eyes. I got out the teddy bear that Hinata gave me then tossed it at him.

"Here, cuddle with that." I said bluntly and he looked at it then blinked.

"I shall name him Fluffy."

"Her name is Hanabi! Besides, that's only for tonight. Now get out of here." I scolded and he just merrily skipped out of my room.

He's so special.

"Ugh, now to get started for the day." I groaned as I sat up from my bed. "Nope not yet." I lied back down and draped the covers over me.

"HEY, NAT!"

"WHAT IS IT, LEAH?!" I yelled as loud as my ginger friend. She came inside then sat on my bed.

"We have visitors." She said then pointed to the door. I looked in that direction and guess what I found. An Uchiha and a Sandman.

"Ugh, go away. Just let me sleep." I whined then buried my face into my pillow.

"Good morning to you, too." Sasuke said sarcastically and I resisted the urge to flip him off. "We came because we needed to talk to you guys." He said and I looked up at him.

"What about?" I asked and Gaara looked at me.

"Well, we've been thinking about this for some time and we've discussed this with everyone else. We came to an agreement and,"

"We would like to know if you would like to train to become kunoichi." Sasuke finished for him and we looked at him.

"…Nah. I'm good, son." I yawned then buried my face back into my pillow. Leah smacked the back of my head and I winced then glared at her.

"Did you seriously just turn down the greatest offer ever?!" She started shaking me by the shoulders then looked at the two boys and smiled. "Of course we will!"

"We will?" I asked and she turned to glare at me, then smiled.

"Come on, Nat! Haven't you ever wondered what it would be like to train to be ninjas? I mean, I guess we have enough chakra, why not put it to use?" She said to me and I shrugged.

"Yeah but it requires motivation. I don't even have enough motivation to make toast, what makes you think I'll have enough to train?" I asked and she rolled her eyes.

"Wouldn't you atleast like to know what your chakra type is?" Sasuke said and I looked up at him. I groaned then sat up.

"Fine, when does training start?" I sighed in defeat and the two boys smirked.

"Three in the afternoon."

"But my nap is at three."

"Nat."

"Oh fine." I pouted like a child and they seemed to be entertained.

"So is it just going to be us training?" Leah asked and they glanced at each other then shook their heads.

"Thomas as well. He has powerful chakra as well as you two." Sasuke explained and said boy walked past the door then came inside.

"What about my power?" He asked and they looked at him, then at his boxers.

"Nice bunnies." Gaara commented and he smiled. "We wanted to know if you three would like to train to become shinobi. If we were in our world then you three would be put in a squad. So, would you like to train with us?" He asked and Thomas took some time to think.

"Will I be able to kick people's asses?"

"If you feel it's necessary."

"Then sign me up!" Thomas said cheerfully and they smiled.

"Good. You guys meet us in the mansion at three. Be sure to wear clothes you can move in." Sasuke said to us and the two boys disappeared in Gaara's sand.

"I wonder what kind of chakra we have." I muttered and Leah perked up.

"Oh I better get Earth! I want to be badass like Toph!"

"Sweetie, no one can be as badass as Toph." Thomas sassed her and I rolled my eyes but smiled. "Ever since you guys forced me to watch the whole anime, I want to get Fire. What about you, Nat?" He asked me and I shrugged.

"Wind, I guess. I want to be able to do the Rasengan." I said and finally got up.

"Alright, get out. I need to change." I said and they did as told. I went over to my closet and got the clothes I wanted to wear.

I picked out some black, loose-fitting jeans and the Three Days Grace shirt that Thomas got me for my birthday. The reason I wanted to wear that shirt was because that I think it brings me good luck, which is what I'll need during training. My pink, high-lighted bangs framed my face as I tied my hair back into a half-ponytail. I went over to go to my desk to get my shark-tooth necklace and my rosary.

"Huh, that's funny. I can't find it. Meh, it'll turn up." I muttered to myself then went to my bathroom to check myself in the mirror.

"I should cosplay as Deidara one day, un." I giggled to myself then froze. _Deidara, I almost forgot that there was a possibility the rest of the Akatsuki are here. _I thought to myself then went out of my room to the other two.

"So, what are our plans for the day?" Leah asked me and I sighed.

"Remember when I said that there might be a possibility that the Akatsuki might be here?" I asked and she nodded.

"Are they the one with the creepy snake guy?"

"That's the Sound ninja, Thomas." I said and he nodded. Leah looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"You've got a plan, don't you?" She asked and I nodded.

"We need to find out if they are actually here. Sasori says tat he lives right next door, I'm assuming that the rest of them would live there as well." I said and she sighed.

"Well we can't just knock on the front door and ask if they live there. The Akatsuki are super dangerous criminals that could kill us at any time they wanted. I'm a bit surprised Sasori didn't do anything after you spilled your heart out. What if we just spy on them, see if any of them are actually there?" Leah explained and I nodded.

"So, the plan for the day is to spy on the Akatsuki. Cool, let's get this started." Thomas stood up then started to walk out while Leah and I facepalmed. He came back inside then started walking to his room. "I should probably put on pants first."

"You go do that, now. Nat and I will find a good spot to do some spying." Leah tugged on my arm as we went outside to the backyard. The only thing separating my backyard from Sasori's backyard is a bunch of bushes.

"You think we can hide in those?" I asked skeptically and Leah nodded.

"It's the only thing we got. Come on, before they see us." She grabbed my hand then sat down on the ground, taking me with her. "Army crawl!" She commanded and I rolled my eyes but did as told. We crawled to the bushes and just hid in there, watching the backyard for anything exciting to happen.

Two hours later and nothing happened.

"This is such a buzz-kill." Thomas muttered and we looked at him. He joined us shortly after we got started.

"Well this is what happens during stake-outs. We have to wait for long periods of time." Leah explained and he flipped his bang out of his face.

"Yeah but this is boring." He whined and we rolled our eyes. I saw someone come out from the back door so we held our breaths.

"It's Deidara-san." Leah whispered and Thomas' eyes widened.

"The guy who defeated Gaara? Isn't he the terrorist?" He asked and I nodded. I looked at the blonde bomber and narrowed my eyes so I could see him better.

He wasn't even wearing a shirt, just some shorts thought to and blue sandals. _Why is it that whenever we're having an adventure, it's a beautiful day out? _I thought to myself then looked up at the sky. Only a couple of clouds were out. Deidara went to a corner of the backyard then pulled something out from his pocket. I turned to my two friends and whispered to them.

"Nobody make a sound."

"Deidara-san I love you-" Leah yelled and stood up then Thomas and I pushed her back down into the bushes and covered her mouth. Deidara looked over to us.

"Huh? Hm, it was probably nothing, un." He muttered then went back to what he was doing.

He took some clay out and started making a sculpture. _So that's two Akatsuki members that are here. _Two other people came outside.

"Fish and weasel." Thomas muttered and I nodded. _And that's four. Kisame and Itachi._ Itachi sat down on a lawn chair and started to read a book while Kisame went over to Deidara and started talking to him.

"They look like the average American family." I muttered and Thomas scoffed.

"Except for fishy-boy. I don't think I've ever seen anyone with blue skin." He snickered quietly and we all heard a crush so we turned around to see what it was.

"Choji?" We both said in unison and he smiled then waved at us. He was holding a bag of chips and eating them as well.

"What are you guys doing here? Are we playing spies?" He asked while taking another chip out.

"Choji, I'll buy you a whole case of chips if you get out of here right now." Leah bargained and she held her hand out for him to shake. He looked around then shook her hand and scurried away.

"Phew, that was a close one." Thomas muttered and we went back to spying on the Akatsuki. Only to find a giant shark-man right in front of us.

"Hey, Itachi-san! Did you want me to trim the bushes or water them?" Kisame asked and we gave out a sigh of relief. He doesn't see us.

"Just water them, Kisame." The raven-haired man said without even looking up from his book. Kisame nodded then got out a hose and started spraying the bushes, along with us in them.

"…I hate you, Leah…"

"Yeah I know." She muttered to me as we all kept blank faces. Once Kisame stopped watering the bushes, we sighed and kept on spying.

I felt something licking and nibbling on my leg so I just groaned.

"Damn it, Akamaru. We're doing stuff." I muttered bitterly and he stopped.

"Not me, boy. Go to Thomas." Leah said and Thomas' eyes widened.

"You're biting pretty hard there, buddy." He said then meeped. We shushed him and he whimpered in return. Akamaru went back to licking and nibbling on me so I just sighed and let him do his thing. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something that made me want to scream bloody murder.

On the sidewalk, was Kiba walking little Akamaru.

"If he's there…then what's…?" I muttered to myself and I shut my eyes closed. I didn't want to look to see what was biting me but I knew I had to. I slowly opened my eyes and turned around to see what it was.

It was a man with yellow eyes, green hair, split down the middle, half black and half white. I also saw something that looked like a Venus fly-trap around his head. I looked at him with wide eyes and he smiled at me.

I screamed like a little girl.

"AHHH! GET OFF OF ME!" I screamed while trying to push him away. Thomas and Leah turned around to look at him and they screamed as loud as I did.

The man stood up and we stumbled over the bushes and fell into the Akatsuki's backyard. Kisame just started laughing, Itachi raised an eyebrow and Deidara went over to us.

"Please, **stop screaming**." He said in two different voices and we yelled even louder while holding onto each other.

"What's going on out here?" We heard a calm voice and we turned to see someone familiar.

"Sasori-kun." I gasped and he looked at me then at my friends, then at the man.

"Zetsu, can you explain to me what's happening?" He asked and the plant-man nodded.

"We were just helping Kisame tend to the garden, **when we found some little spies. **We wanted to know if they tasted good, **just incase. The brunette girl tastes sweet.**" He looked at me then licked his lips and I hid behind Sasori.

"Please don't eat me." I muttered and Sasori smiled at me then chuckled.

"Nat-chan! What are you doing here? Did you come to visit me?" He asked while pulling me from behind me and I panicked so I just hugged him.

"Yeah! I just haven't seen you in a while and I wanted to hand out with you but I was too shy to knock on the door so I kinda just spied!" I lied. I lied like hell. He chuckled again then hugged me back.

"Well, you don't need to be shy around me. You're always welcome here. Guys," He turned to the others. "This is Nat-chan, the girl I was telling you about." My heart stopped. _He told them about me? I hope he didn't tell them what I told him._ I thought to myself and they looked at me.

"Hey, cutie. How old are you, un?" Deidara said with a smirk and I blushed.

"Sixteen."

"Oh, un. Call me in two years." He smiled at me and I awkwardly smiled back.

"Brat," Sasori said to him. "Introduce yourself." He scolded and Deidara glared at him.

"Danna, I'm not a small brat. My name is Deidara, un." He held his hand out for me to shake. I looked at it then at him and shook it. I froze when I felt something lick my hand and start to nibble on it. _His hand mouths. _"Damn." He muttered to himself then pulled his hand away, flashing me a fake smile. I slowly started to back away and felt a body.

"I'm Kisame Hoshigaki," I turned around to look at him. He flashed me a smile that showed his teeth, his _sharp _teeth. "Would you like to see the collection of piranhas I have?" He asked then started chuckling when I shook my head nervously. I felt a hand on my shoulder so I looked up at and saw the rave-haired man.

"Itachi Uchiha. It's nice to meet you," I saw his eyes start to turn red. "Nat-chan." I stared into his eyes for what seemed like forever, I just got lost in them. I snapped back into reality when I felt someone hold my hand.

"I'm sorry about **trying to eat you. You do taste nice, though. **I'm Zetsu." He introduced himself and I assumed that Sasori noticed my discomfort because he draped and arm around my shoulder, then turned to Thomas and Leah.

"And what about your friends?" He said and they looked at him nervously.

"I-I'm Leah Hood."

"And I'm T-Thomas Stock." They introduced themselves and he nodded.

"Well, would you guys like to come inside and meet the rest of my friends? There's only five more." Sasori said and we looked at him in shock. That was all the proof we needed to know that the Akatsuki were living here. And right now it's five against three, I don't like those odds.

"N-No thanks, Sasori-kun. We should really be going." I said and he chuckled then smiled at me while leaning into my ear.

"Well, be sure to stop by any time." He said then hushed his voice to a low whisper. "I know that you know about us. You don't have to be afraid, we're not going to hurt you. You're my new friend, I won't let them do anything to harm you." He whispered and I felt myself start to shake. He let go of me then let me walk over to the rest of my friends.

"Hey what's up?" Thomas asked nonchalantly and I elbowed him.

"Now, don't be strangers. I'll see you later, Nat-chan!" Sasori waved goodbye at me and I awkwardly waved back, Thomas and Leah were rushing for me to get back inside. Once we did, we all gave out a breath that we didn't know we were holding.

"That was too close." Leah scowled as she sat down on the couch.

"Well, I guess that confirms it. The Akatsuki are here." Thomas said and we nodded.

"So, what do we do now? Should we tell the others?" Leah asked and I thought about what Sasori said.

"Maybe we don't have to." I said and they looked at me in shock.

"Nat, it's the Akatsuki. Kisame easily intimidated you, I have no idea what Itachi was doing, Deidara had his clay out, and Zetsu tasted us!" Leah said and I sighed.

"I know but, did you see them? Like I said, they just looked like the average American family. I assume that they already know about they others, so why aren't they doing anything?" I asked and they looked away from me, not wanting to admit that I had a point. "What if they came for the same reason?" I asked and they finally did look at me.

"What do you mean?" Thomas asked and I shrugged.

"Like, what if they came for peace as well? What if the extraction of Shukaku didn't work, and maybe once they realized their mistake, they felt bad and wanted to escape their world of hate?" I asked and Leah scoffed.

"Why do you always have to look on the bright side?" She asked and I gave her a small smile.

"Somebody has to. Come on, just give them a chance. I anything goes wrong then we will tell the others. Alright?" I asked and they hesitated but nodded anyway.

"Fine, but if you're wrong, we hold you accountable, deal?" Thomas joked and I laughed a bit then nodded. There was a knock on the door and I answered.

It was Gaara, and he was holding a small bouquet of flowers.

"Black dahlias." I said and he smiled then handed them to me.

"Your favourites, right?" He asked and I nodded in response. "Can we go for a walk?" He asked nervously and I shrugged.

"If you want to." I said and he smiled then noticed my clothes. "The sprinklers came on." I answered his unasked question with a small lie. He took my hand, the one that wasn't holding the small bouquet, and led me outside.

We walked around the block in silence as he held my hand. He stopped, making me stop with him, and he turned to me.

"Nat-hime, you know that I like you a lot. I'm crazy about you, why are you doing this to me?" He asked, making me look into his pretty blue eyes. I took some time to think then looked away. "I know that you said that you want to be read but, I love you. You were strong enough to contain my inner demon, with your own love." He whimpered and I looked at him, sadness in his eyes.

"I don't think that it's because I need to be ready to be in a relationship anymore." I said and he looked at me, a small bit of fear written on his face.

"Is it…Is it because of what I am?" He asked and I tilted my head in confusion.

"What? No, of course not. It's because…" I looked at him then gave him a hug. "I'm afraid. But not because of what you think. I'm afraid that I'm not good enough for you. You're such a good person, you care for the people around you and you have so many girls chasing after you. Why me?" I asked and he pulled away, then got down on one knee.

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

* * *

**Me: Two things happened in this chapter. The Akatsuki and Gaara half-way proposed. I thought it seemed like that anyway.**

**Eric: You just don't like me, do you? You did that on purpose in spite of me.**

**Me: Damn straight. So we've met the Akatsuki! You didn't think I'd forget about Sasori and his friends, did you? Isn't he a little too friendly? And what was Itachi doing, staring into Nat's eyes like that. Rude. So Nat's taking the Akatsuki's side! Let's see if that turns out well. Feedback time! **

**Kendall: My life is a h0t mess, I probably shouldn't say anything about that first part, Nat's very happy to have you to help write the story. Wooimmafox1305, don't worry, we all have those moments. **

**Alex: read'it'but'dont'believe'it, oh Kankuro will help them. With Kendall's brain level, he won't notice for a while. We're glad you liked how Leah and Nat met.**

**Eric: Okay how come I don't get to train with them?**

**Me: Because like Gaara said, he didn't see much chakra in you. **

**Eric: Well that's not fair.**

**Me: Deal with it. Don't worry, I love all my characters equally. Come over here and let me love all of you. *Kisses Alex on the cheek* *Kisses Kendall on the cheek* *Kisses Eric on the cheek* Now do the shipping. **

**Eric: *Blushes* ...Do I-I have to-**

**Me: Don't question me. Forget you, I'm doing it. By the end of the story, yes I mean the VERY end, who do you want to see Nat end up with? Eric or Gaara? What will her answer be to Gaara's question? Be sure to review your answer and what you liked about the chapter. **

**Thanks for sticking with me for fifteen chapters, guys! I appreciate it! bye, my Lovely Creatures of the Night!**


	16. Earth, Lightning, Water and Wind

**Me: Hello Internet! One week later I'm back with another chapter for in Reality and guess what. We hit the 50th review mark! *Happy Dance* **

**Alex: You're such a dork.  
**

**Me: I can pull a Kishi and kill you off, you know.**

**Alex: Nat-sama! Why don't you tell the lovely readers your excitement?  
**

**Me: Gladly. Thanks a lot guys, I'm very happy about that. And I'm very happy to know that we are now in TWO Communities! Time to disclaim.**

**Eric and Kendal: Hello internet-**

**Me: No! Go back in your corner and stay in your corner! It's my turn now! I do not own any Naruto character, Masashi Kishimoto-sama-sempai-san-kun does. This story was also co-written by my lovely friend, Jazz, also known as My life is a h0t mess. Go read her stories once your done with mine. Enjoy the chapter, guys!**

* * *

"Well, this escalated quickly." I muttered to myself then heard a passing car honk at us. I blushed then turn to look at them. They stopped and one of the people in the passenger seat gave us a thumb's up. "Oh God. Gaara, get up." I muttered to him and he just raised an invisible eyebrow.

"You go, creepy red-haired dude!" I froze when I knew how familiar that voice was.

"Ms. Kinney?! Is that you?!" I yelled and the lady looked at me then smiled. Ms. Kinney was my science teacher and she's even sassier than Thomas. Another thing about her is that she likes to know what's going on with the students.

"See you in class, Cortez!" She laughed maniacally as she and the driver drove away. I blushed then facepalmed. I opened my eyes to see Gaara still kneeling. I scowled then tried to get him to stand up.

"Get up before someone else thinks you're proposing to me." I snapped at him. He pouted and stayed put.

"If you don't answer me then I really will propose to you."

"I'm sixteen! I don't know how to deal with this!" I whined and saw a car coming by. They whizzed by us while honking three times. I blushed then turned to Gaara. "You want an answer?" I asked while tugging him up by his collar to meet his eyes with mine.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" He asked and I smiled then pressed my lips against his forcefully.

I kept on kissing him passionately and he blinked then kissed me back. I wrapped my arms around him as he set his hands down against my waist. I pulled back so that I could catch my breath but he whimpered then smashed his lips against mine. I smiled at the fact that he just wanted more so I let him have it. I was enjoying it as much as he was, having his warm lips against mine was something that I had thought about. I finally pulled away and stopped him from doing anymore.

"Yes I would love to be your girlfriend." I smiled and he rolled his eyes but smiled as well. He connected his forehead with mine then smiled at me.

"I'm glad you accepted my request. Now I have one more." He said with a sly smirk and I looked at him.

"What is it?" I asked and he leaned in closer to me, our lips were barely touching and I could feel his warm breath against my skin.

"Can you teach me how to fall asleep?" He asked and I rolled my eyes.

"Geez, with an opening like that, I thought you wanted to kiss again." I muttered to myself and he gave me a soft kiss then pulled away.

"I'm serious. I still haven't been able to fall asleep since Shukaku was extracted."

"I have a question about that." I said and he raised an invisible eyebrow. "When you ran off on the first night we met, you said that Shukaku was hurting you. But now you're saying that he's gone from you. That doesn't make any sense." I said and he scowled a bit.

"He was hurting me. Even when he was extracted from me, he left some of his energy in me. It's like a scar, he'll never go away. His dark energy still hurts me," He looked up at me with a warm smile. "But you could control it. To me, love isn't just having strong feelings for someone. And it also isn't being able to put up with someone and still have a bond with them. Love is being able to be there for your significant other. It's being able to help them in their darkest hour." He pulled me into a warm embrace.

"Is that how you know I love you?" I asked and he nodded. I sighed in return. I have feelings for Gaara, I know that. I just don't know if I'm _in _love. He pulled away then looked at me with sad eyes.

"You don't love me." He said with sorrow and I looked at him in shock. I remembered that he could still sense emotions, so he must've sensed mine.

"No, Gaara, that's not it! I do love you, I just can't say that I'm in love with you." I didn't to say anything that would upset him but that didn't exactly help. He hung his head in shame. I frowned but picked his chin up to make him look at me in the eyes. "But that's why we're together now. So that I can fall in love with you." I smiled at him and he returned it.

"So, it's official. We are a couple. What kind of dates do normal couples go on?" He asked me and I laughed.

"I don't know, sweetie, but I'm gonna go take a nap." I chuckled then started to walk back inside, leaving him out there.

"…Hey wait!" He yelled then started to run over to me. Once he caught up to me, he held my hand. "Can't you take this a little bit serious?"

"I'm sorry. I don't know what normal couples do. I've never been in a relationship." I said and he smiled then gave me a small kiss on the cheek.

"I'm glad that I'm your first. Well, I did ask if you could teach me how to fall asleep. I suppose that taking a nap with you can help me get started." He said and I slightly blushed.

"Yeah but, my bed isn't exactly meant for two people." _But Thomas never seems to understand that. _I thought to myself and Gaara draped an arm around m shoulder, pulling me closer.

"Well my bed is big enough. We can go there." He offered and I blushed even harder. I nodded anyway and we started heading to the mansion. When we passed the living room, we found an odd sight. Apparently it was nap time.

Sasuke was lying down on the couch with Leah on top of them and they were blissfully sleeping. Hinata was on the floor, propped up against the couch with Naruto in her lap and they were sleeping. The last couple there, which I just found out was a couple, was Neji and Tenten, who were holding each other in their arms as they were on the recliner. Neji opened an eye then looked at us.

"Good job, Gaara." He smiled at us then went back to sleep. I blushed and Gaara squeezed my hand. I looked up at him and he smiled at me, then led me to his room. Once we got there, I just stared at it in awe.

The walls were painted red and the ceiling was black with the Sunagakure symbol on it. He had a desk in the corner of his room next to his bed. At the window sill, he had a small area where he could just sit there and look outside, it looked very comfortable. I looked at the bed and noticed that it looked like it wasn't being used at all. _Well that's gonna change_. I looked around then noticed something.

"You listen to Pierce the Veil?" I asked and he nodded. There were a bunch of posters with the band on them and he also had some CD's. He took my hand and led me to the bed then sat down, making me sit in his lap.

"I like them. And I love you." He kissed me on my cheek again and I blushed. "Well, you said you were going to take your nap." He said and I nodded. I stood up and started to take my shirt off and he blushed.

"What's wrong?" I asked after I finally pulled my shirt off, revealing the blue camisole I had underneath.

"I-I…You sleep with your shirt off?" He asked and I rolled my eyes then nodded.

"I assume most people do." I said and he blinked. He shrugged then started to take his robes off, leaving his black pants and revealing a black shirt and mesh shirt underneath. Now it was my turn to blush. He noticed it then gave me a teasing smirk.

"Let's go to sleep." He whispered into my ear then lied down on his side, waiting for me to get in. I smiled hesitantly then got into bed with him. He held me as I buried my head into his chest and smiled.

"Oh my God you're so ripped." I said bluntly and he chuckled then picked my chin up so I could look at him.

"I still can't exactly fall asleep. Are there any ways that I could fall asleep?" He asked and I knew exactly what he was hinting at.

"I'm not going to make-out with you just so you could tire yourself out." I said and he snickered in return.

"Then can I atleast have a kiss?" He asked but already started leaning into me. I smiled then leaned in as well. He gave me a soft and gentle kiss, and also ran his fingers through my hair. He pulled away then smiled. "I love you. I love you so much." I smiled at him then kissed him on the nose.

"Turn over." I said and he gave me a confused look but did as told. He turned over so his back was to me and I chuckled. I held him from behind and tried to fit my curves with his.

That's right.

I'm spooning Sabaku no Gaara.

"Isn't it usually the boyfriend who holds his girlfriend when they're sleeping?" Gaara said without even looking at me and I smiled then kissed him on his shoulder.

"Yeah, but I'm depriving you of your manliness. You're mine, now. I call the shots."

"Oh God." He muttered in a tone that sounded like he was a bit scared and I chuckled.

"Just try to go to sleep."

"I don't feel tired at all." He said and I rolled my eyes then started kissing his back softly. He moaned a bit and that made me blush. "N-Now I do. Th-Thank you, Nat-hime." He stuttered and I smiled, then closed my eyes to go to sleep. I could feel him breathing, and it was in a relaxed pattern so I knew he was asleep. Now it was my turn. I smiled then yawned, snuggling myself into Gaara.

"I'm very happy with the decision I made."

**Leah PoV**

"Leah-chan, wake up." I felt a poke to my stomach so I fluttered my eyes opened. I saw Sasuke still holding me and I smiled.

"Hey." I said then buried my face into his chest again. He smiled then sat up, making me sit up as well. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes then looked around. "Whoa what happened here?" I asked and Sasuke chuckled.

"Apparently everyone decided to take our lead and take a nap in the living room." He answered and I heard someone chuckle. I turned so I could see who it was, it was Neji. He smiled at us then gently woke up Tenten.

"Not everyone. It seems that there's a new couple, and they went upstairs to sleep instead." He said and I looked at him, waiting for him to tell us who it was. Well, first Naruto woke up and then blushed when he found out where he was. He sat up then gently shook Hinata awake.

"Well? Who's the new couple? A girl needs to keep tabs on stuff like this." I said and he chuckled again.

"Well, Gaara finally made his move. He and Natasha went upstairs to his room." He explained and Naruto jumped up in excitement.

"Alright, Gaara! I have to go see this!" He yelled then dashed upstairs. I smiled to myself.

"Finally. I know that she'd give in soon." I said and noticed something. Hinata looked down then frowned. _I wonder why Hinata isn't happy. She's friends with both of them. _I thought to myself then stood up. I was about to ask her about it until Sasuke held my hand after he stood up.

"It's time for you to begin your training. Go get Natasha and meet us in the backyard." He said and I nodded.

I went upstairs to go get my friend so I had to get to Gaara's room. _I hope they aren't doing anything dirty. _I thought to myself and found Naruto in his doorway. He was silently cooing and I looked inside, then cooed as well. They were both soundly asleep while Nat was holding Gaara. Naruto snickered silently then got out a camera and flashed a picture.

That bad part about that was that it woke up Gaara.

His eyes snapped open and he turned to glare at us. Well more at Naruto than me. He slowly sat up while trying not to disturb Nat, then crossed his arms. Naruto smiled sheepishly then waved. Gaara continued to glare at him then sighed.

"Naruto."

"Hi, Gaara."

"Sand Coffin!" Gaara yelled then sand started creep from inside his room onto Naruto. Naruto chuckled sheepishly then looked at the red-head.

"I deserve this." Naruto said, accepting his fate. He just closed his eyes, waiting patiently. I noticed that the sand started going away, and so did Naruto. He opened his eyes then turned to look at Gaara, and so did I.

"Get back here." Nat muttered as she pulled Gaara back into her arms. He blushed in return then smiled. Naruto and I cooed again and Gaara turned to glare at us again.

"Don't ruin it." He snapped at us and we shuddered then nodded.

"Uh, well I kinda have to. It's time for us to start training." I said and he looked at me then nodded. Gaara sat up and so did Nat.

"I thought naps were supposed to make you feel great when you wake up. I feel like I'm rising from the dead." Nat muttered and Gaara gave her a look. "Oh, sorry. I forgot." She apologized and he rolled his eyes.

"GUYS, GUESS WHO'S HERE!" Kiba yelled as he ran to where we were. He was panting once he got here then pointed downstairs. The couple on the bed stood up and went over to us too see what was going on. Once Naruto saw who it was, he anime fell.

"S-Sai?!" He said in disbelief and Nat groaned.

"That pervert's here now? Great." She said sarcastically and said boy looked up at us. Sai was wearing the same clothes he wore in the anime, the set showing off his mid-section and he also had a backpack with him.

"Naruto-kun, Kiba-kun, what's going on?" He called to them and he noticed me, Nat and Gaara.

"Kazekage-sama, may I speak with you?" He asked and Gaara nodded. Sai looked between me and Nat then back up at him. "In private?" He narrowed his eyes at him then shook his head this time.

"Sai, whatever you need to say can be done in front of my friends." He said and the pale boy sighed then nodded.

"Then can I speak to you down here? I don't exactly want to have to strain my neck while looking at you." Sai asked and he nodded then the rest of us came downstairs. "I originally wanted to tell you first, but I guess telling everyone at once would be better."

"I'll go get the others." Kiba said then went off to do so. He quickly came back with the rest of the group, and Thomas.

"When did you get here?" Nat asked him and he smiled.

"I wanted to play in the poll they had in here!" He explained and she nodded.

"Sai? How come you're here?" Ino asked and he flashed us a fake smile, I always wanted to see him do that.

"Well, I came for you all. You didn't think that I'd just let you leave me behind, did you?"

"Kinda did." Naruto muttered to himself.

"Well, I didn't come just because of that. Everyone is taking your lead." He gave them a genuine smile, and Gaara raised an invisible eyebrow.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked and the pale boy chuckled.

"Kazekage-sama, you didn't think that the village would've noticed that you left, right? Sunagakure was almost in a state of panic, until they discovered the jutsu you had left." Sai explained and Gaara crossed his arms then turned to Kankuro.

"I thought I told you to hide the scroll."

"Did you honestly expect me to leave the village in the hands of the councilmen without knowing where the Kazekage and his bodyguards went? They lost you once, they would've been terrified once they knew they lost you again. I had to leave it for them incase they wanted to join us with a note saying that we left." He explained and then looked back to Sai.

"I assume you're going to ask me how I knew that. Word that Kazekage-sama left had spread to Konohagakure, and Hokage-sama also found out about her missing ninja. She thought the idea was nice, but would appreciate it if you all would tell her once you decide to pull a stunt like this." He got out his backpack then emptied the contents onto the floor.

"Scrolls?" Gaara asked and Sai nodded.

"Letters, actually. These are from the citizens of Suna and Konoha, saying how brave it was for you all to go into another world, seeking peace. They're telling you to wait for them, because the councilmen from both villages had decided that they will give them a choice. Either citizens will stay in their village…or come here." He picked up one scroll in particular, with gold around the edges, and showed it to us.

"This one is from Hokage-sama." He opened it up and cleared his throat. "Godaime Kazekage, while the decision you and my ninja had made was rather risky, I appreciate that your efforts to find a peaceful world had led to this. My villagers want to live in this world as well, so I hope that it's alright that I had already sent Sai to tell you about this. However, I would like it if my ninjas would visit me from time to time. I'm sure Suna would also like to see their Kazekage visit them. Maybe one day we'll see each other, just stay safe." He read aloud and everyone looked at him.

"Granny Tsunade isn't mad at us? Awesome!" Naruto cheered then smiled at Sai. "Hey, are you gonna stay here with us? It'd be nice to have the whole team together, Sai." He offered and the pale boy looked at him, then at Sasuke and Sakura and nodded.

"I would love to stay here. I only have one question." He said and they nodded. He looked at me, Nat, and Thomas while pointing a finger. "Who are they?" He said bluntly and I smiled.

"I'm Leah Hood! It's nice to meet you, Sai! I've heard a lot about you!" I exclaimed then extended my hand for him to shake. He smiled then shook my hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Leah-chan. And you two?" He said to Thomas and Nat. Thomas was the first one of the two to smile brightly then extended his hand.

"Thomas Stock! You're a badass artist, right?" He asked and he nodded. "Hm, I think you and Eric would be good friends." He muttered underneath his breath and I'm pretty sure I was the only one who caught that. _Well he isn't wrong_. Eric's a pretty great artist, he says that he's gonna be a tattoo artist when he grows up.

"And you, Sunshine?" He said to Nat and she glared at him.

"Was that supposed to be one of you're little sarcastic nicknames for people?" She asked and he tilted his head in confusion.

"No, you just seem like a ray of sunshine to me. Leah-chan is Bubbly so she will be Bubbles. And Thomas-kun is…well, I'm not sure." He took some time to think then smiled. "Blondie." Thomas pouted at that and Nat rolled her eyes but smiled anyway.

"Natasha Cortez, but I'd like you to call me Nat." She extended her hand out and he shook it. They smiled at each other then high-fived each other, proceeding to give each other a complicated handshake. You know, like the secret handshake you and your best friend would have.

"What the hell?" I asked and they looked at me. "What, have you two known each other your whole lives? That's my job." I snapped at Sai jokingly and he chuckled.

"Well, it's nice to meet you three." He turned to Gaara. "Kazekage-sama, I hope that you would let me stay with you all, please?" He asked and the red-head nodded in return.

"Yes, you can stay with us. There are still rooms to spare. But, Sai, you don't have to call me Kazekage-sama anymore. We're in a different world, I have no power here."

"Except for us. To us, you're still the Kazekage, you're the leader of this group." Temari said and she smiled at her brother. He smiled back then looked at me, Nat and Thomas.

"Well, Sai. I'd like for you to join us in training these three. They have enough chakra to become ninja in our world, why not put it to use?" Gaara asked ad Sai smiled then nodded.

"I would love to help. I also brought some training materials, just incase." He picked out three tan pieces of paper and handed them to Gaara. "Chakra paper. Kakashi-sempai gave them to me. I would assume that you would need to find out their chakra type before actually starting training." He explained and we nodded. Gaara handed each one of us a piece of paper.

"Oh I Kakashi using these. All we have to do is insert atleast a small amount of chakra, right?" I asked and he nodded.

"Just focus on inserting your chakra into the piece of paper, that's all you need." He said to us and I shrugged.

I closed my eyes and focused on the piece of paper. I felt a small bit of energy leave me as I did so. _I have chakra! I actually have chakra! Oh I really hope that I get Earth Release!_ I thought to myself as I opened my eyes again. The paper started to wrinkle at first then crumbled away.

"What does that mean?" I asked and Gaara looked at me then smiled.

"Well, it seems like I'm going to be your trainer since we both have Earth."

"AWESOME!" I cheered then hugged him. He sighed then hugged me back anyway.

"Heh, I made a hat." Thomas chuckled to himself as he put the paper hat on his head. Sasuke rolled his eyes then took it off his head. Thomas pouted in return. "My hat…" He whined and Sasuke gave him a look before opening the paper back up. It was all wrinkly, even after he flattened it out.

"And you have Lightning. So I'll be your trainer." He said and Thomas pouted again.

"But I wanted fire."

"Well, Lightning causes fire."

"Logic! Yay! Can I have a hug?" He held his arms out for Sasuke to hug him, who only gave him a look in return.

"No."

"Well I'm sad." Thomas faked a sniffle and Nat rolled her eyes. "Hey, what do you have?" He said while looking at her paper. It was torn in half, which made both Gaara and Naruto perk up.

"Wind, right?" She asked and Gaara nodded.

"So then I'll be your trainer as well" He smiled at her and Naruto shook his head.

"No way! I have Wind, too, so I get to train her!" He yelled while pointing a finger at himself and Sasuke scoffed.

"Dobe, you still need training. What makes you think you'll be a better trainer than Gaara?" He asked and Naruto glared at him then took Nat by the shoulders.

"Well how come he gets to train _two _people?! I'm able to do the Rasengan, I should be able to train Nat-chan!"

"Well she's _my _girlfriend!" Gaara argued while pulling Nat closer to him. He and Naruto glared at each other and Temari smirked.

"Well it's nice to know that you two are dating but maybe I should train her. Gaara would be too distracted-"

"No I won't!"

"And Naruto, well he's still a genin."

"Hey!"

"Don't I have a say in this?"

"No!" All three of them yelled at Nat who rolled her eyes in return. She sighed then pointed to all three of them.

"Eenie meeni miney mo, catch the tiger by the toe. Rasengan wins."

"DATTEBAYO!" Naruto cheered as he pulled Nat into a bear hug. She coughed as he squeezed her tight and Gaara and Temari glared at him.

"Well I'll be helping anyway, Naruto and I have two different methods of using our Wind Release so it'll give you an advantage." Temari explained and Nat nodded.

"Well what about me?" Gaara asked and I glared at him.

"What, am I not enough for you?" I said and he looked at me.

"I meant that-"

"Did I forget to mention that my paper is also soggy?" Nat said and we looked at her. She held up the two pieces of paper and they were indeed soggy.

"But, that means you also have Water Release. I don't know many people who had both of them." Naruto said and she smiled at him.

"Then that just means I'm special. Can't you use your shadow clones to help me with water or something?" She asked and he took some time to think then nodded.

"Alright, I get Temari and Naruto as my trainers."

"Well, we aren't exactly your trainers." Gaara said and Sasuke smirked.

"We're your Sensei's."

* * *

**Me: Somewhere, there's a bitter Eric. **

**Eric: I'm right here.**

**Me: GO TO YOUR CORNER! Anyway, it finally happened! The GaaNat, NatGaa, whatever the hell you wanna call it, ship finally set sail. Take that, Matsuri! Anyway, if I were taking a nap with my boyfriend I would totally be the big spoon. He's mine. Like how Gaara is Nat's. My science teacher was a really sassy lady. I had to put her in the story. **

**Eric: Why does Gaara like the same band I do?**

**Alex: People have similar interests. It totally wasn't because Nat wanted to get a rise out of you.**

**Me: *Whispers* It was because of that. Anyway, Sai's here! That was why I didn't include him in the first place. Him and Nat seem like best friends. With the secret handshakes and whatnot. We all had one of those at some point. Notice that Hinata was a bit upset when she found out about the new couple. Hinata is a shipper. She shipped Nat and Eric. Sorry for the other shippers of that couple. Don't worry, I'll have a surprise for you guys. The story is far from over.  
**

**Kendall: Yeah we still have that part about-**

**Me: There once was a boy who spoiled my story. And then I killed him off.**

**Kendall: I love you Nat!**

**Me: You all have to. Anyway, feedback time! My life is a h0t mess, yes, I know that Deidara is yours. I hope I'm doing a good job. read'it'but'dont'believe'it, I'm sorry I took a week. They're very friendly, especially Zetsu. hat is he doing? Trying to eat the trio. Rude. Wooimmafoz1305, every story is a good story with Three Days Grace. Why did you leave us, Adam?! Anyway, Nat was a bit more nervous than to be fangirling over Sasori.**

**Kendall: Aiedail4eva, she has to continue it. If not then she'll be blackmailed by her friend. And you're right, people wouldn't be reading this fanfiction if it was OC with another OC. **

**Eric: Gee, thanks, Kendall. I'm not that weak...okay maybe a little. If the poll actually mattered anymore, it would've been seven for Gaara and three for me. Would you have liked it if I ended up with Nat? It'd boost my self-confidence. **

**Me:We both aren't very happy about ourselves. Anyway, be sure to review your answer to his question and what you liked about the chapter.**

**Thanks again guys for helping me hit that 50th review mark! I'm glad to have you along during this crazy ride! Bye, my lovely Creatures of the Night!**


	17. Training

**Me: Hello Internet! I'm back with another chapter for the story! Personally I don't think this is my best chapter but it's something. Anyway, to my lovely disclaimer team! **

**Eric: Hello, internet.**

**Me: I said team. **

**Eric: Kendall and Alex are sleeping.**

**Me: She doesn't-nevermind. You're good enough. I don't own any characters from Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto owns them. **

**Eric: And the story was also co-written by Jazz, also known as My life is a h0t mess. Go over to her stories once your done with Nat's.**

**Me: Enjoy the chapter, guys!**

* * *

"There is no way in hell I'm going to call you sensei, Gaara!" I yelled and said boy turned to glare at me.

"Either you do or I'll make you call me Kazekage-sama instead."

"Pfft, like that'll happen-"

"Sand Coffin!"

"Gaara-sensei! Gaara-sensei!" I yelped, feeling sand start to crawl onto my body. It went away and I glared at him. "Damn, Nat you wanna switch senseis?"

"Nah I'm good."

"I'm your boyfriend!"

"But I want Temari and Naruto." Nat whined then snuggled herself into Temari. She raised an eyebrow in return but let it happen. "Wow you smell nice."

"Okay get off." She pushed her away and Nat pouted.

"Hey if anyone deserves to switch senseis it should be me." Thomas pointed a finger to himself and Sasuke bonked him upside his head.

"No you don't. You're fine with me."

"Yes, Sasuke-sensei." Thomas whined as Sasuke smirked.

"It feels good to be in control." He muttered to himself then winked at me. I blushed in return. "Alright, now that we've got that settled, let's head outside so that we can actually get your training started. You three, jog there." He said to me, Nat and Thomas and we groaned but did as told.

"I never thought that training was so much like gym class." Nat muttered and we nodded. We jogged at a steady pace to the backyard, and once we got there we stopped. The rest of the group just walked there, and Sasuke crossed his arms at us.

"I never said stop, Thomas." He told the blonde boy who groaned then started jogging in place. He looked at me then at Nat and pouted.

"Hey how come they don't have to?" He asked and Sasuke just blinked in return.

"They aren't my students. Gaara, Naruto, and Temari have different teaching methods then I do. Now, go do twenty laps around the mansion for a warm-up." He said and Thomas anime fell.

"That's insane!"

"Make it thirty."

"But-"

"Forty."

"Now hold on just a darn-diddly minute-"

"Do we need to make it fifty?" Sasuke asked and Thomas scowled then got up. He jogged away and Sasuke smirked, then looked at us. "We're gonna have a fun time together."

"Don't you dare kill my dying buddy, Uchiha. We still need to have adventures that could possibly kill us." Nat said and he rolled his eyes.

"You're lucky I'm not your sensei, or else I'd give you the same amount of laps except around the block." He muttered and Nat immediately went pale. She chuckled nervously then gave Naruto a big bear hug.

"Naruto-sensei! I'm so glad I have you!" She squealed and he laughed then hugged her back.

"Alright, love fest is over." Temari interrupted. "Like the Uchiha said, we all different training methods. The way we're starting your training isn't going to be with warm-ups." She closed her eyes then gave out a big breath. She opened her eyes then looked down at her hand, it started to glow blue.

"Is that chakra?" Nat asked and Temari nodded.

"I'm going to teach you how to focus your chakra, with help from Sakura, of course." She said then looked up at the pinkette. Sakura smiled then joined them.

"I guess I can help. I can also help Leah and Thomas, if he survives his training." She looked at me and I smiled. Said blonde boy finished his first lap and he ran by us.

"I hate you all."

"What was that?"

"Nothing, Sasuke-sensei." He muttered before disappearing for another lap and Sasuke smirked.

Temari was talking to Nat about how to channel her chakra while Sakura went up to me to do the same thing. I get the whole basic grasp of it, I just need to focus. I closed my eyes to do so, trying to channel my chakra into my right hand. I opened my eyes to see it glow a light shade of blue, but it was very faint. I looked over to Nat and saw that she already had it down. She had both of her fists clench, blue chakra glowing around them.

"Nice job, both of you." Sakura praised then looked around the area. "Hey Sasuke-kun, remember that little training exercise Kakashi-sensei made us do while we were guarding that old bridge builder?" She asked and he raised an eyebrow then nodded.

"The tree climbing exercise. You want the girls to do it?" He asked then looked at us. "I guess. Remember to focus your chakra into the soles of your feet, but not too much or you'll break the tree and you'll start to fall. Once Thomas is done with his warm-up, he'll join you." Sasuke explained and we nodded.

"Hey wait a minute!" Naruto shouted and we looked at him. "Like you said, we all have different training methods. Temari and I are training Nat-chan ourselves! We don't need help from you, Sasuke-teme." He argued and Sasuke smirked.

"Hn. You do realize she needs to learn to use her chakra first, right?" He asked and Naruto pouted.

"That's way too boring!" He then turned to Nat. "Come on, Nat-chan. I want you to hit me as a hard as you can! Actually, I want you to try to beat me up! If you do that, then I'll be able to figure out your strengths and what we need to work on-Gah!" Nat interrupted him by socking him in the jaw.

"That's a strong punch." Naruto commented before setting his jaw back in place. He stood up then taunted her with hand motions. "I want you to come at me! Like I'm your worst enemy. Imagine me, uh…picking on Leah!" She started kicking him in the stomach. "B-Bullying you!" He screamed, and she gave him an uppercut. "U-Uh, hurting Sasuke!" At that she completely stopped and said boy scowled. "I meant Gaara!"

"Wait what?" Gaara asked as Nat brought Naruto down to his knees. He groaned and grunted as she kept on beating him. "Well it's nice to know you express your love for me in one form or another." He deadpanned.

We all just watched Nat beat up Naruto and him yelling things at her to make her hit him harder. Temari just stared at them then blinked. She sat down on a tree stump then got out a small bag of nuts and started to eat them, just watching them with content. Once Nat finally started going easy on him, Kiba, Shikamaru and Choji started laughing at him.

"Hey! The kid got beat up by a girl!" Kiba chuckled and Naruto glared at him. "Those were some sweet moves, Nat-chan. Where'd you learn them?" He asked as she cracked her knuckles.

"I took up boxing when I was visiting with my parents in Mexico. My dad used to be a professional boxer, it's in my blood." She explained then helped Naruto get up. He had some scratches and bruises starting to form, but nothing serious. Nat looked at Naruto with worry in her eyes, and he just smiled then gave her a thumbs-up.

"Don't worry about me. You did great." He chuckled and she sighed then smiled. I looked at them then turned to Gaara.

"Gaara-sensei can I-"

"Go do the tree climbing exercise."

"But I wanted to do what Nat-"

"Leah."

"Oh fine." I pouted in defeat then went over to a tree. I wrapped my arms around it then tried to put my feet on good spot to help me climb.

"With your feet, Leah." Gaara deadpanned and I blinked.

"Oh right." I stepped back then tried to focus my chakra into my feet. I positioned myself at a good distance away from it then got a running start. At first I was so sure I was going to fall down but I didn't. "I'm a ninja." I said to myself then I started to fall down. I heard someone sigh then catch me.

"You lost focus." Kiba scolded me and I smiled sheepishly. He rolled his eyes but smiled at me, showing off his fangs. _I really forgot how much I liked Kiba. _No, not in that way. I had three favorite characters for this show, Sasuke, Kiba, and Shikamaru. Kiba must've noticed that I was out of it so he just put me down on my feet.

"Now go do it again." Gaara said to me and I groaned but did so anyway. I got a running start again this time went higher than I did last time. I started to slip so I just clung onto the nearest branch and just stayed hanging there. I realized how high I was so I just my eyes closed.

"Fall!"

"Damn it, Nat!"

"She means let go! I'll catch you!" I heard Kiba yell. I opened my eyes then looked down at them. I regret that. I was higher than I thought I was.

"Heh, this is fun." I chuckled to myself sarcastically as I started to feel light-headed. It's not that I have a fear of heights, I just have a fear of falling.

"Leah! Just let go! I promise I'll catch you!" He yelled at me again and I shut my eyes closed again then shook my head.

"I don't wanna! I don't wanna!" I cried out. I was really getting scared at this point. I could either stay here or fall and possibly die. "Well I think we all know my answer." I said to myself and heard a crack.

"Dude! The tree is super old! If you don't let go, that branch is going to break!" Nat yelled at me and I noticed that the branch really was about to break. I gasped then looked down at Kiba.

"Do you promise you'll catch me?" I yelled to him and he nodded, then held his arms out. I closed my eyes then let one arm go down to my side.

"Hey, what'd I miss?" I heard Thomas from down below as he was still running. I let go of the branch but Kiba turned his attention to Thomas instead of me.

"Kiba you bastard-oh no!" I yelled as I notice that maybe I didn't position myself right. I was falling into a different direction than the others. Even if Kiba paid attention to me, he wouldn't have caught me. I shut my eyes closed then started cursing as I kept falling. "I hate you all!" I yelled, bracing for a hard impact.

Instead of having my skull cracked open like I expected, I felt that my body was cushioned by something soft. I opened my eyes and saw dirt. Soft dirt, actually. I got up, and started laughing maniacally that I wasn't dead. I turned to look over at the others, and they all looked at Gaara. He looked at them then shrugged.

"I didn't do it." He said and my eyes widened then looked at the dirt.

"Then…who did?" I asked and Sasuke went up to me and smiled. I noticed that he had his Sharingan activated.

"Good thing I was able to see everything. Actually, you were to one who did that." He said and I tilted my head in confusion. "I could see your chakra focusing on your arms to brace for the impact, and also around this dirt so it could pile up and soften your fall." Sasuke explained and I looked down at the dirt.

"I did this?" I muttered to myself then looked back up at him. "How? I'm just learning about Earth Release, how can I do this?" I asked and he smiled then deactivated his Sharingan.

"I was able to analyze what you did. It wasn't a jutsu…it was a kekkei genkai. Leah-chan, you have a bloodline limit. And it's being able to control the earth around you." Sasuke said and I just stared at him in return.

"…Woohoo! I'm Toph!" I cheered excitedly then both Nat and Thomas facepalmed at me. I chuckled in return then Sasuke went up to me and gave me a soft kiss.

"It looks like we're a couple made of bloodline limits, huh?" I giggled then nodded. He smiled again then gave me another kiss.

I loved how Sasuke was affectionate with me in front of everyone else. Before, I just thought he wouldn't even act like we were a thing, but he does. I expected to cold Uchiha glare, the monotone voice, and the disinterest in everybody. I didn't expect this at all, but I like it. I really like this guy, I'm so happy that he likes me back. Having this earthbending makes me feel like I'm at the same level he is.

"Now hold on." Sakura interrupted my thoughts and she glared at me. "A couple? You two are together now?" She asked and I smiled then nodded. I kinda regret doing so because I remembered about Sakura's crush on Sasuke and her temper.

"Haven't you noticed?" Sasuke asked and she pouted.

"Well when did this happen?!"

"The day we met." He answered and she glared even harder at me.

"Oh you man stealer!" She screamed then came at me.

I didn't exactly know what I expected from her but it sure wasn't a punch to my stomach.

"Sakura." Sasuke warned and Gaara shook his head.

"I'm doing what Naruto did. I want to see how she can handle a situation like this. Don't interfere." He said and Sasuke scowled but stood back anyway. I held my stomach from where she punched me and glared at her.

"It wasn't my fault you weren't right for him!" I yelled and she frowned then aimed for another punch at me.

I saw a fist coming for my head so I held my arms out to brace for impact. I blinked for a second and when I opened my eyes again, I saw that her fist was entrapped in hard rock. I looked closer at it. It wasn't hard rock, it was solid dirt. I looked down at the ground then smirked. _She might have strength but I've got my own earthbending. She can't beat me, I won't let her. _

"Go, Sakura-chan!"

"Lee!"

"And you too, Leah-chan!" I rolled my eyes as Sakura punched the earth with her other fist, causing it to crumble away.

"I'll teach you a lesson for taking my Sasuke-kun from me!"

"I was never yours to begin with." I heard Sasuke mutter underneath his breath.

"Go Sakura." Nat said sarcastically and I glared at her. "Go Leah." She said in the same tone and I deadpanned, not noticing the kick coming at me. I was fast enough to block it and she countered by punching me in my temple.

"Damn it, Nat! Can't you be supportive?!" I yelled at her and she shrugged.

"I'm not picking a side. So I'll use my sarcasm."

"Thanks a lot, Natasha-bear!"

"Welcome." The amount of sarcasm and sass we give to each other cannot be counted.

I looked around and noticed that some people actually did pick a side. Well, only Ino, Lee, Naruto and Shikamaru were on Sakura's side. _Geez, it's nice to know they support me._ I raised my arms, making some piles of dirt rise as well. I clenched my fists and they turned solid. I pointed them to Sakura and they shot themselves into her direction.

If I wasn't sure that I would've been pummeled to death if I lost focus, I would really be having some fun right now.

The two small boulders shot at her. The first one hit her in the stomach, making her to lose her balance, and the second one hit her in the shoulder, making her fall to the ground. She groaned in pain then shakily sat up, wiping some sweat off her brow.

"W-Why…can't you fight me yourself?" She said in between heavy breaths and I smirked.

"Because I know you're way stronger than me," I turned to Shikamaru. "Isn't that why you're on her side?" I asked and he shrugged but nodded.

"Come at me with your own punch!" Sakura yelled at me and I glared at her.

"Alright but you asked for it." I came running at her, chakra infused into my right hand.

I raised my left fist at her, aiming for her cheek. She smirked then deflected it and grabbed that arm and brought it to her side. She snickered then her eyes widened when I raised my right fist at her. I already had a strong punch, but having the chakra in that hand made it even harder. It knocked her to the ground and she panted. I knew she would already have another attack planned out so I had to move quickly. I wracked my brain trying to think of ways to defeat her but nothing came to mind. I looked around my surroundings then smirked.

"And up we go!"

I raised my arms to the sky as dirt and soil started to wrap itself around Sakura. She looked at it in disbelief and couldn't move. She rose into the sky along with the earth encasing her. I pumped my right fist into the air as the soil shot her up, then started to crumble away. Sakura was left in the air with no support. I knew she wouldn't die from the fall but she'd lose her fight with me.

"This fight is over. I win." I said to myself then crossed my arms, waiting for her to finally come back down. I closed my eyes and just counted the seconds passing by.

"Sakura! No!" I heard Sasuke scream so I opened my eyes.

I looked up and saw Sakura coming down with a kunai in her hand. I stood there, frozen in shock as she held then kunai out at me. As she was about to collide with me, I flinched out of instinct. Closing my eyes, I didn't feel any pain. I opened my eyes and saw that I was inside a ball of soil, like Gaara's shield of sand. I fell to my knees and wiped the sweat off my brow.

"Thanks, Gaara. If I hadn't seen that shield, I have no idea what would've happened." I looked up then froze again. Right where I was standing was the tip of Sakura's kunai. A centimeter closer and it could've been a blow to my head.

"Leah-chan! Are you alright?" Sasuke called out to me and I made the soil go back down into the ground.

"I'm fine." I responded and he smiled at me. I looked over and found Sakura lying down on the ground, her eyes closed and a trickle of blood coming down from her forehead.

"As the barrier came up, she hit her head against it. She must've hit it pretty hard, too." Gaara explained and I nodded then smiled.

"Yeah! I win!" I cheered and they smiled at me, then their eyes widened. "What's wrong?" I asked and they pointed behind me. I turned around and gasped.

"I'm…I'm not done y-yet."

Sakura was standing, although she was breathing heavily. She looked tired, but still had determination in her eyes. She came running at me, her fist raised and glowing with blue chakra. I flinched again as her fist made contact with my left cheek. I closed my eyes, thinking that it'll block out the pain. When I tried to open my eyes again, I couldn't.

All I saw was darkness.

**Nat PoV**

"Oh God damn it." I muttered underneath my breath as Sakura collapsed onto Leah after she made her final blow. I thought Leah was fine but then I started to see her eyes roll to the back of her head, and she started to fall. "Leah!" I yelled then ran over to her.

"Whoa, double knockout." Thomas added in then and helped me get Sakura off of Leah. Lee put the pinkette against a tree while we just examined our little ginger.

"Wha-What happened? Did I win?" I heard Sakura ask and I glared at her. Yeah, I know that we're supposed to assess our skills, but seeing my best friend get beat up really hurts me inside.

Hell, it hurt me when I was beating Naruto.

"What the hell were you thinking? You could've killed her with that kunai!" Sasuke growled at Sakura and she glared at him.

"If you thought I really would kill her, then you really don't know me! That kunai wasn't meant for her. I knew that I would make a terrible landing on my own, so I had to figure out if her earthbending works like Gaara's sandbending. The soil was supposed to protect her, and it did. I stuck the kunai out so I could hold onto something." She explained and he glared harder than looked away.

"Well what if it didn't work? What if you killed her? Did you ever think about that?!" Sasuke yelled and she frowned then confronted him.

"I would've lowered my kunai. I know that it would work…because I would never break your heart by hurting her!" She yelled back, tears starting to stream down her face. "I would never hurt you like that, Sasuke-kun. I don't care if you two are together, I never want to see you upset." She buried her face into her hands and he sighed.

"Listen, I know that you still have these feelings but you can't just do something like that because you're jealous."

"I was fighting her because Gaara said so!"

"Hey now. Don't involve me in any of this." He held his hands up in mock-defense as Sakura and Sasuke glared at each other. Eventually Sakura broke then gave out a big sigh.

"Sasuke-kun, I would never seriously injure her. She's my friend, and so are you. Whether you two are together or not, I don't want to lose either of you. I'm sorry." She apologized and he sighed then pulled her in for a hug.

"I forgive you. Now help her up." He chuckled and she smiled at him, then nodded. Sakura went over to where me, and Thomas were with Leah's body and I glared at her.

"I won't be as forgiving." I growled at her and she took a few steps back, then looked at me with determined eyes.

"If you do, I promise I won't hurt her anymore."

"Promises are meant to be broken." I retorted and she glared at me, then looked at Thomas. He jumped up then went over to Sasuke's side.

"Yeah this seems more like a girl problem so I'm just gonna stay out of this." Sasuke rolled his eyes but let Thomas hide behind him. I continued to glare at Sakura and she didn't budge.

"Oh Jeebus what happened?" I heard Leah's voice so I perked up then looked at her. She fluttered her eyes opened and rubbed her head. She looked at me then smiled, but it was wiped off her face when she saw Sakura. The pinkette sighed then smiled at her.

"You did great." Leah simply blinked then shrugged.

"Thanks. That was one hell of a fight." Sakura helped her get to her feet and they smiled at each other. "So, anything I need to work on with my fighting?" Leah asked and she shook her head.

"Not that I know of. What do you think, Gaara?" My insomniac boy walked over to us then smiled at Leah.

"You're good at close to mid-range attack. We're going to enhance those skills and work on long-range attacks. You learned to make your own moves in quick time and under pressure. Overall, you did well, Leah. I'm impressed." He praised and she gave him a big grin then turned to Sakura.

"Hey, I'm sorry that I made you upset at me. I didn't mean to do anything wrong, you think we can still be friends?" She asked then held her hand out for her to shake. The pinkette looked at her hand, then shook it.

"Of course we can. I'm sorry I was being too forceful. Well, it's over now! I'm glad that we're all friends again!" She said excitedly and I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah you think that, now." I muttered underneath my breath but I'm pretty sure she still heard it. Sakura glared at me then pouted.

"What is your problem with me anyway? I haven't done anything." She argued and I scoffed.

"That's the problem." Honestly, I didn't particularly like Sakura. She was a character who didn't do much until Shippuden. Yeah I know she changed but I don't exactly like her harsh attitude. "You get all worked up over little things. It's annoying." I muttered and she glared at me, having a tic-mark on her forehead. I just blinked for one second then saw a hand coming for my cheek.

I didn't know what to expect after I said that but a slap to the face wasn't it.

"Cha! I'm annoying?! You've gotta be kidding me!" She yelled at me and I glared at her. I stepped up to her and she looked a bit afraid.

"Don't you ever slap me. I don't need a bruise on my cheek just because you overacted on something." I growled out, seeing my breath come out of my own mouth. It's like when you breathe out during the cold season.

"Nat-hime?" Gaara called to me and I turned to look at him, a look of disbelief on his face.

"What is it? What's wrong?" I asked and he pointed down at the ground. I followed his gaze then my eyes widened.

Ice was beneath our feet, and had Sakura trapped on the spot. As I looked down I noticed that my fingertips were glowing with light blue chakra, and they were cold. I flinched away and fell to the ground in shock. I looked into the ice and noticed that my dark brown eyes were now blue. I looked back up at Sakura as she tried to free herself from the ice, then caught my gaze. I just stared at her, and she smiled sheepishly.

"I don't suppose you know how to remove this, do you?" She asked and I didn't respond.

I just lowered my head to look back at the ice and closed my eyes then counted to ten. I opened my eyes back up then saw that the ice was now water. I saw my reflection and my eyes were dark brown again. Sakura held her hand out for me to take and I took it. I might not have a good relationship with her, but I still need to consider her a friend until proven otherwise. That slap was only in the moment.

"What the hell was that?" I asked and Sasuke smirked at me. My eyes widened once I noticed he had his Sharingan activated again.

"Two kekkei genkai in one bunch. How lovely." He said then deactivated his Sharingan. He frowned at me then shook his head, like he was disapproving of me. "You have the same one as that hunter-nin. What a treat." He said sarcastically and Naruto looked at me.

"Nat-chan, you don't know Haku, do you?" He asked me and I shook my head.

"Not personally. I have Ice Release?" I asked and he and Sasuke nodded. The raven-haired boy looked at me then sighed.

"No wonder you had both Water and Wind Release. They're the two components for Ice Release." He looked at Leah then back at me. "There is one thing I noticed, though. Both of you had the same mutation when you used your kekkei genkai. Leah-chan, your eyes changed to a light brown colour. Natasha, your eyes changed to a light blue colour. That would usually only happen with the Sharingan, so I'm still confused as to why it happened to you two." He explained and we looked at each other.

"Dude we're so freakin' special!" Leah cheered then went up to me and hugged me, I blinked in response.

"Hey wait a minute." Thomas interrupted our little moment and we looked at him. He was pouting like a child. "How come I don't get a bloodline limit? Why am I not special?!" He asked and Sasuke smirked.

"Calm down. I'm sure that even if you did have one, you would only use it to get out of your training. Which obviously did wear you out. You're sweating." He commented and the blonde boy looked at himself then groaned.

"You're right. I really am sweaty. Time to take this off." He started to take off his shirt and we just stared at him.

"…"

"What? Do I have a bee in my hair?" He asked after we just stayed in complete silence. It was Sasuke who turned him around and shuddered. "Oh is it that my shoulder blades pop out?"

"No. You…You have something on your back." He pointed out and Thomas turned his neck to see, then smiled.

"Well I'm scarred for life." He said cheerfully then immediately started to freak out.

Coming out of his back, were little black tentacles that started squirming around, and there were a lot of them.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE THESE THINGS?! OH MY GOD THEY'RE SLIMY! JESUS CHRIST, WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME?!" He started panicking and Sasuke grabbed him by the shoulders then bonked him upside the head repeatedly.

"Thomas, I will send you into the worst genjutsu I have ever thought up if you don't calm down. Just breathe in and out." He threatened and Thomas shakily nodded. He turned his neck again and that's when I noticed his eyes, will the one that wasn't covered up by his bang, had turned black.

"Okay, I'm good now. Thanks, Sasuke." The Uchiha boy bonked him upside the head again.

"Sasuke-sensei." He corrected and Thomas groaned then looked at us.

"Dude, I'm Slendeman."

* * *

**Me: Thomas is out in the woods, stealing yo' babies. *Starts MC Hammer shuffle* Anyway, a lot happened in this chapter. hat Sakura and Leah fight was my favourite scene. Those two had to fight each other. I'm not so good at fight scenes so sorry if that was bad. The Nat and Naruto fight, though. I felt a little bit bad writing that.  
**

**Eric: What about their kekkai-genkei things?**

**Me: Sweetie don't try. So the trio now have their own bloodline limits! Well I don't exactly think Thomas' is a real kekkei genkai but the other two I'm so sure they are! Leah can use her earthbending style, which is really awesome, and Nat has her Ice Release. Imagine how bad they're gonna abuse that power. Okay, feedback time! My Life is a h0t mess, Leah sure doesn't like calling them sensei. And no, I did not mean it like that. read'it'but'dont'believe'it, I didn't realise it was a teacher/student relationship. Scandal! Anyway, yeah! It finally happened! The ship set sail!**

**Eric: Nat, how long are you going to be living in your own little fantasy world?**

**Me: I'll stop once I'm dead. **

**Eric: Alright then. Aiedail4eva, she stopped because he kept forgetting. Nat's science teacher was...lovely. She tries to include as many characters as she can in the story. **

**Me: Alyce DreamEater, for some reason I read that sarcastically at first but then I read it again and now I really like you. Thanks so much for the praise! I feel so special!~ And we have a new poll for the story! I wanna know who your favourite character is so far and why they're your favourite! Mine is Thomas. He's just so adorable.**

**Eric: Thanks a lot, Nat. So let us know down in the reviews and what you liked about the chapter.**

**Me: Bye guys! I might update on Thursday before I leave, thanks for reading! Quote of the chapter,**

_**...Whether you two are together or not, I don't want to lose either of you...~ Sakura**_


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